Add some roasted fennel and apples on top of a salad mix filled with radicchio to balance those sweet and bitter flavours. Your taste buds will thank you!
Salad with Caramelized Fennel & Apples
1 large fennel bulb
1 sweet-tart apple, such as Braeburn
1 T butter
2 T olive oil, divided, plus another dash
1 t raw sugar
1/2 t fennel seeds
salt & pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 raddichio
4-5 handfuls of mixed salad greens (mesclun mix)
1 t lemon juice
2 T toasted pine nuts
3 oz or so, soft goat cheese
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Thinly slice the fennel bulb lengthwise (about 1/4 inch thick pieces), making thin, flat, feathery tear drop shaped pieces. It's okay, however, if the pieces fall apart.
Cut the apple in half, core & slice half of it into thin slices.
In a large sautee pan, heat 1/2 T butter and 1/2 T olive oil over high heat until foaming. Add as much of the fennel as you can fit in a single layer, cook until the undersides have turned a golden brown (a couple of minutes), then flip & cook the other sides until golden. Transfer to a bowl or tray. Repeat, adding more olive oil & butter as needed, until you have browned all of the fennel, and the sliced apple.
Turn down the heat to medium-low, add another dash of olive oil, sprinkle in the sugar and the fennel seeds and let the sugar just begin to melt (this only takes seconds). Then, stir in the browned fennel & apple, sprinkle well with salt & pepper & stir to get coated with caramelizing sugar. Just cook for another minute or so, then transfer back to the bowl. Toss with the crushed garlic.
Wash, then cut or tear the raddichio into bite sized pieces. Mix with mesclun mix. Cut remaining apple half into small cubes. Toss the lettuces & apple cubes with 1 t lemon juice, 1 T olive oil & a little sprinkling of salt & pepper, until coated.
Divide the dressed lettuce and apple between two plates. Mound half of the caramelized apple & fennel on top of lettuce on each plate. Scatter the toasted pine nuts over the salads, crumble goat cheese on top. Enjoy!
food52.com/recipes/8756-salad-with-caramelized-fennel-and-apples