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Home Christmas Christmas Sides: Light & Fresh

Fennel Salad

By:Nagi
Published:13 Jan '20Updated:13 Nov '20
21 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This fennel salad is a classic combination – thinly shaved fennel, lemon dressing and shaved parmesan. A fennel recipe that’s quick to make, it’s beautifully refreshing and presents elegantly. It’s the sort of salad you’ll find on the menu of fine dining restaurants!

Close up of forks picking up Fennel Salad

Fennel Salad

Fennel is so refreshing, I love it raw. Shaving it is a great way to use it in salads because it really tones down the aniseed flavour that many people find off-putting about fennel.

In fact, I’ve served shaved fennel salads to quite a few people who aren’t a fan of fennel and they all loved it!

This fennel salad is a classic combination of flavours that’s an outright copy of salads I’ve had at fine dining restaurants and good bistros. The fresh, softly crunchy shaved fennel pairs beautifully with a fresh lemon dressing. Then a bit of parmesan to give it a special finishing touch and add an extra edge of flavour.

Plus, it presents really nicely in this “carpaccio” style. Very post restauranty! 😂

Fennel Salad on a white plate ready to be served

What you need

And here’s what you need. While we don’t use the stems of the fennel, we do use the fronds! A little sprinkle on the salad to use as the garnish, and also to add subtle extra hint of fresh fennel flavour!

What goes in Fennel Salad

How to make it

And here’s how to make it. It literally takes minutes to make if you have a mandolin to finely shave the fennel!

How to make Fennel Salad

What fennel salad goes with

This is a great salad to have on the side of rich meat heavy meals like roasts because it is so refreshing. It’s a particularly good pairing with pork and poultry – here are some dishes that I like to serve it with:

Overhead photo of golden Roast Chicken with crispy skin, fresh out of the oven, bathed in garlic-herb-lemon butter.
Roast Chicken
Close up of Pork Roast with Crispy Crackling
Pork Roast with Crispy Crackling
Pouring gravy over roast chicken
CRISPY Herb Baked Chicken with Gravy (easy roast chicken!)
Juicy Roast Turkey being carved, ready for serving
Juicy Roast Turkey
Close up of Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs in a skillet with garlic butter sauce, ready to be served
Garlic Chicken Thighs
Cuban Roast Pork - the actual recipe from the "Chef" movie, created by Roy Choi. Easy to make, incredible flavour, virtually foolproof. recipetineats.com
Mojo Cuban Roast Pork
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast in a white dish, ready to be served
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast
Overhead photo of Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork on a plate with a side of cabbage salad
Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork
Overhead photo of Slow Cooker Roast Chicken (whole chicken) on a serving platter with lemon wedges and thyme, ready to be served
Lemon Garlic SLOW COOKER Roast Chicken

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Close up of Fennel Salad on a white plate

Fennel Salad with Lemon Dressing and Parmesan

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 5 mins
Total: 5 mins
Salad
American-Italian, Western
5 from 5 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. This Fennel Salad is a classic combination - shaved fennel with a zesty lemon dressing and shaved parmesan. It's the sort of salad you'll find on the menu of high end bistros and fine dining restaurants. It presents beautifully, tastes refreshing and even people who don't usually like fennel enjoy it because the fennel flavour is actually very mild!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium fennel , or 2 baby fennels
  • 1/2 red onion , shaved or finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil , separated
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated

Instructions

  • Cut stalks off fennel (save fronds). Shave the fennel and onion using a mandolin, or slice finely.
  • Place in a bowl. Add lemon juice and 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss.
  • Spread out on a plate "carpaccio" style. Drizzle with more olive oil, top with freshly grated parmesan then sprinkle with fennel fronds.
  • Serve immediately!

Recipe Notes:

  • Serve immediately after dressing as the dressing draws out a lot of liquid from the fennel quite quickly.
  • You only need 1 medium size fennel to serve 4 as a side salad. You'll be surprised how far it goes once shaved!
  • Fennel salad is a wonderful refreshing salad that pairs exceptionally well with pork and poultry. Some suggestions: roast pork, whole roast chicken, herb baked chicken with gravy.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 122cal (6%)Carbohydrates: 5g (2%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 11g (17%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 4mg (1%)Sodium: 276mg (12%)Potassium: 242mg (7%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 127IU (3%)Vitamin C: 9mg (11%)Calcium: 103mg (10%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: fennel recipes, fennel salad, shaved fennel salad
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published June 2014, updated January 2019.

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21 Comments

  1. Kim Millar says

    September 15, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious, thank you!

    Reply
  2. Anne says

    February 14, 2021 at 11:21 am

    Thank you so much for the recipe. It really hit the spot. Served it with your 7hour lamb. Going to make the salad again tonight to serve with the left over lamb. Think it will all work well with some flatbread. Thanks a million!

    Reply
  3. Joanna says

    June 10, 2020 at 2:30 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,

    We love this salad, it’s absolutely delish! Just served it together with lamb chops and baked sweet potatoes.

    Thanks and warm greetings from Eindhoven, The Netherlands 🙂

    Kees & Joanna & Claire

    Reply
  4. Marya says

    March 14, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    5 stars
    I made this last night for an impromptu dinner guest. I served it as a salad to accompany a rich Italian sausage pasta dish with a tomato and cream based sauce and a little kick. This salad was easy to make (aside from mandolin fear)! It was beautiful to look at and absolutely delicious. I shaved the Parmesan instead of grating it and I also added thinly sliced celery. Thank you!!

    Reply
  5. Barb says

    January 16, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    I love fennel salad. I make a version with thinly sliced oranges and mint leaves. Makes a good salad even better!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 17, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      YUM! Sounds great Barb!

      Reply
  6. Katerina says

    January 16, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    I’m always looking for new ways to serve fennel – and this looks simple but super flavourful. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 17, 2020 at 3:52 pm

      Yes so easy and delicious!

      Reply
  7. alimak says

    January 15, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    This is awesome Nagi – I served it to fennel haters and they gobbled it down and looked for more!!!!

    I had it with a rich pork roast – it was a pairing made in heaven!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 15, 2020 at 5:17 pm

      Fennel and pork is the perfect combo – I’m so happy you converted those haters!

      Reply
  8. Ron says

    January 15, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    Hi Nagi –
    Love fennel – and this looks great! But think you forgot to include the red onion that’s in the pictures in the actual recipe? (There’s also a mention of zucchini in the notes that gives me the impression it was also included somewhere along the line then maybe dropped?)
    Anyway – thanks again! – have had great success with all of your recipes and always look forward to new ones 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 15, 2020 at 5:30 pm

      Yes! Thanks so much for picking this up – will change it!

      Reply
  9. Sue says

    May 18, 2019 at 9:02 am

    5 stars
    Thanks for this recipe! I am new to cooking with fresh fennel, but I got some in my CSA. I braised some of it, and it was delicious, but I wanted to try it raw. I have a lemon vinaigrette that I make almost daily, so I used that in this salad. I also subbed nutritional yeast for the Parmesan to make the salad vegan. It was delicious and so quick! I was able to whip it up for a nutritious lunch. Thanks again.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 20, 2019 at 9:23 am

      What a great idea Sue, I’m so glad it worked for you!

      Reply
  10. Maya | Wholesome Yum says

    July 2, 2016 at 5:52 am

    Hi Nagi, I just wanted to let you know I featured this recipe in my Low Carb Gluten-free Zucchini Recipes roundup. I hope you’ll get some visits coming your way!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 4, 2016 at 10:26 am

      Aww, that’s so sweet Maya, thank you!! Could you drop me a pin that you want shared and I’ll share it! 🙂 N x

      Reply
      • Maya | Wholesome Yum says

        July 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm

        Thank you so much, Nagi! Here is the pin for the roundup: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/513832638718285609/ I appreciate it! 🙂

        Reply
        • Nagi says

          July 6, 2016 at 7:06 am

          scheduled! 🙂

          Reply
          • Maya | Wholesome Yum says

            July 6, 2016 at 9:42 am

            Thank you! 🙂

  11. Chelsey says

    May 12, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    Interesting flavor combo!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 13, 2016 at 2:19 pm

      Thanks Chelsey!

      Reply

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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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