Fennel, artichoke and broad bean salad
In Greece, there are many salads without a lettuce leaf in sight. The addition of different herbs makes them sing but here I have taken a liberty by adding fennel to the salad, which is not strictly traditional.
INGREDIENTS
4 baby fennel bulbs
8 bottled artichoke hearts, cut into halves
500g fresh broad beans, shelled and peeled
or 250g frozen broad beans, cooked and peeled, (see Lyndey’s note)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dill
lemon juice, to taste
80g kasseri, kefalotyri cheese or pecorino, shaved
METHOD
Remove the base and cut the stalk from each fennel bulb. Halve the bulbs and remove the cores. Using a sharp knife, vegetable peeler or mandolin, shave the fennel into thin slices. Place the fennel on a serving platter, add the artichoke hearts and peeled broad beans.
Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with dill, and add freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice to taste. Top with the shaved cheese.
LYNDEY’S NOTE
I don’t know that peeling broad beans is very ‘Greek’ as typically in Greek cuisine little is wasted. However, I prefer to double peel as the bean inside is sweet and delicate, a perfect match to the shaved fennel and artichoke. To remove the skin from the inner bean, cook fresh broad beans in boiling water until just tender (don’t salt the water), drain, allow to cool and slip the skin away.
This recipe first appeared in Lyndey and Blair’s Taste of Greece.
