Summer Fennel Salad With Lemon and Sherry Vinegar Dressing

Summer fennel salad is a perfect side dish for long hot days in the sun. Fennel is a versatile vegetable that is often used in Irish cooking

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Anise Flavored Fennel

Fennel goes well with Parmesan cheese and lemon sherry vinegar dressing, the highlight of this recipe.

Shaved fennel salad, a bright summer side dish can be served alongside any meal or used as a side dish to accompany your favorite sandwiches, burgers or steaks!

This is a salad I would describe as bright and tangy. It's a sophisticated fennel salad, served with a delicious sherry vinegar and lemon juice dressing, then topped with Parmesan shavings. The distinctive taste of citrus paired with good olive oil imparts incredible flavor to the dressing.

The lightly anise-like flavor of the fennel shines through. I like to blanch the shaved fennel leaves for just one minute to slightly soften them for this salad.

Fennel - A Summer Seasonal Vegetable

Summer is the season of easy, throw-it-together, fresh, no-bake meals and salads are the star of my summer food show. Fennel bulbs are in season in summer, and they need very little preparation for tasty salads.

Fennel is a popular Irish vegetable. It's mild licorice or anise flavor is very distinctive.

Fennel boasts a pale green bulb that you'll find in the produce aisle of most grocery stores. Sometimes they're sold without their upper stalks, which have darker green feathery dill-like leaves. These fennel fronds can be cut off for this salad. If you don’t like waste, save them and add them to the pot when making stock.

Many fennel salad recipes use totally raw fennel shavings. This works fine. It's perfectly okay to eat raw fennel. However, for the best fennel salad recipe I like to blanch the chopped fennel bulb in boiling salted water for just one minute to slightly soften any harder leaves.

Ingredients for Fennel Salad

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious salad. You’ll find exact quantities in the printable recipe at the end of this post. You can also toggle between US and metric versions of this recipe.

• fennel bulb
• sherry vinegar
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• salt to season dressing
• black pepper to season dressing
• chopped fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese (shaved)
• boiling water
• sea salt for blanching the shaved fennel leaves

How to slice a fennel bulb

This is a delicate, crunchy salad and the key to cooking success is slicing the fennel bulb as thinly as possible. Here’s how I like to slice a fennel bulb...

• Slice off the stalks and feathery leaves from the top of the bulb.
• Cut a thin slice at one end to remove any tough outer layers, then cut in half lengthwise.
• Stand each piece upright on its base (or lay down if that's easier). Then use your fingers or knife to remove the hard outer layer.
• Slice across the bulb to create slices about a quarter inch thick, then chop or slice into smaller pieces as desired (this is what I do).
• To remove any tough bits between individual fennel leaves that are left after slicing and chopping them up, use your fingers or knife to scrape them out.

If you have a mandoline slicer, then let it work its magic on your fennel bulb. Be sure to follow all of the safety instructions to avoid cut finger tips.

How to Blanch Fennel Leaves

Blanching softens the fennel leaves. It's simply a quick dip in boiling salted water for no more than a minute. Here's how I accomplish this step.

• To blanch the fennel leaves for one minute: Bring a pot of water to boil and add some salt.
• Add four cups or more of boiling salted water, then place the chopped up fennel leaves in a colander inside that and let them sit there for just one minute before draining out the excess water.
• You can also use a slotted spoon to remove the blanched fennel leaves from boiling salted water and transfer them to cold running tap water for quick cooling, or just let it cool on its own in a colander after draining out all of the hot water.

After you've prepared the shaved fennel for this summer salad, you are then ready to proceed with the dressing.

How To Make the Lemon Sherry Vinegar Dressing for Summer Fennel Salad

Start by whisking together some lemon juice and olive oil in a dressing jar or small bowl.

Then add sherry vinegar, salt and pepper to taste (remember that all ingredients should be added gradually as opposed to dumping it all into the mixture at once).

How To  Assemble Shaved Fennel Salad

Place a bed of shaved blanched and cooled fennel leaves on your serving dish.

Pour over the dressing and mix well together. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley to garnish and Parmesan cheese shavings.

Serve promptly as this is intended to be eaten fresh

It can be refrigerated for upto 1 hour before serving. Any longer and it will wilt after sitting for too long.

Can I make this salad ahead of time?

If you would like to prepare this salad in advance, you can make the dressing a day ahead and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

Slice the fennel bulb in advance, but do not blanch it until the day you wish to serve this salad.

Don't dress the salad until just about an hour before serving.

Printable Recipe Card

Here's the printable recipe if you would like to add it to your kitchen files.

This fennel salad boasts bright and tangy flavors, is deliciously crunchy, and is perfect as a side dish for any grilled meat and fish. Try it with Guinness marinated steaks for a true taste of Ireland.

Fennel salad is the best way to enjoy this unusual vegetable, in my book. I love it so much, it features in my round up of Easy Irish Recipes for Summer. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and all my summer fare.

Add a spoon of this salad to an Irish pub salad plate. It's also a nice side served alongside Irish style coleslaw with salmon cakes or fish cakes.

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