This shaved fennel salad, dressed with a sweet and zingy honey mustard vinaigrette is a delicious and refreshing summer dish. This crunchy side salad shines wonderfully alongside grilled chicken, pork, fish and seafood dishes.
It is such a pleasure to cook with fennel. You can make the most delicious flavour combinations with it. When eaten raw, fennel has an anise-like flavour. Pairing it with other ingredients either balances out the flavours or makes it shine even more. When braising, grilling or roasting fennel, it brings out the sweet aroma even more.
How to make shaved fennel salad
Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
This recipe requires two easy steps. One is to prepare the fennel bulb and the second step is to make the dressing.
Honey mustard dressing
To lift the flavours of this dish I use a good drizzle of this honey mustard dressing. The sweet and tangy flavours of the honey and Dijon mustard pair very well with the liquorice taste of the fennel. This dressing combines white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, Dijon mustard, honey and extra virgin olive oil into a delicious and creamy vinaigrette.
Prepare the fennel
Cut the fennel bulb lengthwise in half, remove the hard bottom part and core of the bulb. Trim the green fennel fronds and put these aside to use as garnish.
Use a mandolin to slice the fennel paper-thin. If you don’t have a mandolin you can slice it thinly with a sharp knife, but you won’t be able to slice the fennel as thin with a knife as with a mandolin. In that case, leave the fennel coated with the dressing for half an hour in the fridge before serving. The vinegar will slightly soften the fennel.
Mix everything to coat and garnish with the green fennel fronds.
What goes well with fennel salad?
This refreshing fennel salad works well as a Summer salad alongside grilled meat or fish. It does particularly well with any fish, as well as with chicken and pork dishes. Serve as a side salad with these lemon and herb chicken skewers, mussels marinière or South Africa bobotie.
More fennel recipes to try
- Dogfish stew with fennel, peppers and tomatoes
- Fennel soup with zucchini and star anise
- Oven roasted fennel and carrots
Shaved fennel salad with honey mustard dressing
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb very thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard and honey. Mix well. Add the olive oil and whisk into a creamy consistency.
- Cut the fennel lengthwise in half. Use a sharp knife to trim off the green fennel fronds, the hard bottom and the core of the fennel bulb. Use a mandolin to slice the fennel paper thin.
- Transfer the sliced fennel in to a large bowl and toss with the honey mustard dressing to coat.
- Serve and garnish with the green fennel fronds.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment with rating below and share a picture with the hashtag #thetastychilli and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
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