I was standing in line at the checkout for my groceries and the lady could not seem to identify this bulb looking thing. “it’s fennel” I said – slightly annoyed that I had already waited about 15 minutes for her to ring up the lady before me. I felt a tiny bit stupid when she punched in the code for “anise” – the other name for fennel. Go figure.
Fennel is exactly that – anise. Licorice flavor is better understood by most people….and you either hate it or love it.There’s really not much to this salad. Maybe that’s why I like it. What I really like is that during the winter, I can get fennel bulbs for $1.50 a piece – and that’s a good deal. I tried this salad with blood orange once and it was gorgeous. I didn’t have them around, so I just used navel oranges.
Shave the fennel really thin on a mandoline and supreme oranges (segment them) and a few fennel frawns – not sure how you spell that. and Season with some lemon juice, orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Voila! A deliciously easy, crunchy and very refreshing salad.( Something you may need after waiting on line for 15 minutes at checkout.)