“This salad is a little festival in itself”, says Chef Ottolenghi. This recipe is adapted from his “Fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds and sumac” recipe in The Cookbook.
Colorful and flavorful, we don’t get tired of this salad, especially right now that it’s pomegranate season! But if you can’t get your hands on pomegranate, the Chef suggests to substitute dried cranberries or sour cherries. And make sure to pick the round and bulky fennel variety rather than the long one.
Serves 4 – Total time 20 min
1/2 large pomegranate
1 medium fennel head
1.5 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp tarragon leaves
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
2.5 oz (70g) feta cheese, diced
salt and pepper
First, release the pomegranate seeds and set aside in a bowl, covered with film.
Remove the leaves of the fennel, and keep a few for garnish.
Slice the fennel very thinly lengthwise.
In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, and some salt and pepper, to taste (I personally don’t add any salt because the feta cheese is already quite salty).
In a salad bowl, add the fennel and the dressing, and mix well.
On each plate, add some seasoned fennel, then a few feta dices, some pomegranate seeds, and a few fennel leaves to garnish.
Serve right away.