This Fennel, Cucumber, and Hazelnut Salad is packed with crunch. This layered salad incorporates different textures and flavors making every bite unbeatable!
The Secret To A Good Salad Is…
I’m a salad lover. I love them as meals, as snacks, as sides…however you toss it, I’m going to love it.
That said though, the components and ratio of a good salad is truly dictated by ts type. For example, if I’m going to eat a salad as a meal, I want variety. Variety of textures, flavors, and ingredients. This illustrated in my Asian Noodle Salad or Coconut Curry Chicken Salad. In contrast, when I’m having a light dinner salad, I don’t need much to be impressed. However, there are a few key tricks to taking your dinner salad to the next level.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
- Forget what you know: a salad does not need to be lettuce based! Raw vegetables can be just as delicious and serve as a heftier base.
- Add that crunch! Whether it’s by way of a fruit, vegetable, nuts, or seed, I still want some contrasting textures.
- Season it well. This may mean doing some taste testing to find your perfect ratio of oil to vinegar.
- Layer your flavors! Each component should be thoroughly seasoned before mixing them all together. This means a lighter hand as you drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Remember that you can always add more – but you can’t take these seasonings out!
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Fennel, Cucumber, and Hazelnut Salad
Equipment
- Mandoline Slicer, optional
Ingredients
- 1 bulb fennel, stalks removed, fronds reserved
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp sliced hazelnuts
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Large flake salt, such as Grey salt
Instructions
- Using a mandoline slicer, carefully slice fennel bulb and cucumber thinly. Alternatively, use a sharp knife to make very thin slices. Place fennel and cucumber in separate bowls.
- Zest the lemon and then halve it. Use juice of one half of the lemon over both cucumber and fennel. Start with 1 teaspoon of oil in each bowl. Season each lightly with corase salt. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Layer ingredients on two plates in the following order: sliced fennel, sliced cucumber, fennel fronds, lemon zest, hazelnuts. Continue layering untill all ingredients are gone.
- Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.