Shaved Fennel Salad with Cayuga Blue, Dried Cranberries
and Walnuts
By Michael Welch
Serves 6
2 apples, peeled and cut into matchsticks (fujis, honeycrisp and jonagold work well)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 large fennel bulbs
1/2 cup Lively Run Cayuga Blue, crumbled
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Toss the apple pieces in lemon juice to prevent browning. Remove fennel frond and stalks and reserve. Finely chop two tablespoons fronds and set aside for garnish. Cut the bulbs into quarters and remove the tough inner core. Using a swiss peeler (a plastic handled peeler with two wide thin blades at the top) thinly peel the fennel into strips.
Combine the fennel and apples together in large salad bowl. Whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard, and mix into the fennel and apples. Gently toss the cheese, walnuts and cranberries into the bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped fennel fronds.
Photo courtesy of Lively Run Goat Dairy
For more on fennel, click here.
