Fennel-Apple Salad With Pistachios

Wow! This Apple Fennel Salad is light and tangy with thinly sliced apples, celery, and fennel topped with pistachios and parmesan cheese. It has a wonderful blend of bright fresh flavors and textures. This super crunchy deliciousness keeps well too. This salad pairs nicely with rich savory dishes. I can't get enough of this salad.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced on a mandoline

2 Honeycrisp apples , halved and cored, thinly

sliced on a mandoline

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a mandoline

½ cup roasted pistachios (I usually use roasted salted pistachios from the grocery store)

2 ½ ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable

peeler (about 2/3 cup)

PREPARATION

YIELD 10 servings

TIME 10 minutes

1. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil, continuously whisking, until dressing is emulsified. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed.

2. In a large bowl, toss the dressing with fennel, apple and celery. Keep chilled in the refrigerator up to 1 hour before serving. Top with Parmesan and pistachios just before serving.

Chef's Notes:

• Emulsify the oil. You can also emulsify the oil by combining the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil in a mason jar and shaking it until well combined. This is what I usually do.

• Use a mandoline slicer. The fennel bulb, apples, and celery all get sliced very thing, giving this salad a great texture with a variation of flavors in each bite. Using a mandolin slice ensures everything is uniformly and consistently cut. You want paper thin apple and fennel pieces for this salad.

• Toast the nuts. Toasting the nuts adds so much flavor to this salad. If I’m pressed for time, I’ll often buy toasted pistachios from the grocery store.

• Add the nuts and cheese right before serving to keep both these toppings from getting soggy.

• This salad is best made with very cold ingredients so make sure to stick the fennel, apple, and celery in the fridge for a few hours before preparing this salad.

• Dressing can be made the day before serving. Store in the refrigerator. Toss with salad ingredients up to 1 hour before serving. Keep chilled.

• This salad is great without the cheese and nuts too. In fact, I make it most of the time without the nuts and cheese. It is delish!

This recipe was inspired by Fennel-Apple Salad With Walnuts By Melissa Clark and this recipe by Chelsea.