This Christmas Eve I decided to make myself a new fun fancy salad packed full of yummy deliciousness. I wanted something with roasted veggies, a fun nut and arugula. Through my internet searching, I found this recipe on the Fresh Market’s website, and I instantly knew it was the winner. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. SO GOOD.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Chop the stalks off of the fennel bulb. Half and core the bulb, then slice against the grain into quarter inch pieces. Clip off some fronds from the stalks to reserve for a finishing touch. The fronds have a gentle, slightly sweet anise flavor, and they look pretty!
Arrange the fennel with pancetta on a lightly greased, foil lined sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
Take the sheet pan out of the oven and mix around with tongs, coating the fennel in the rendered pancetta fat. Place back in the oven and roast for 10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, let’s mix up the dressing! In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard and clover honey. Slowly pour in the extra virgin olive oil, whisking constantly as you add. Salt and pepper to taste, then give it one last mix.
Time to whip out the hammer! The original recipe called for almonds, but I love praline pecans, and, I do what I want. 😉 To crush them I placed them in a plastic bag, put a rag over it for cushion, and whaled away.
Next, thinly sliced a honeycrisp apple, then dice it into bite size pieces.
When the fennel and pancetta are done, it’s time to get out the rest of the ingredients and combine everything together!
Scoop the fennel and pancetta into a large bowl, top with apples and arugula, and toss away with a pair of tongs. I didn’t add the dressing until I scooped myself out a serving, but if serving for other people, go ahead and mix in half of the dressing.
Put everything from the bowl in a serving dish and top with blue cheese crumbles, fennel fronds and crushed praline pecans. Serve the remaining dressing on the side. Enjoy! 😋
Apple & Roasted Fennel Salad with Pancetta
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 1 (4 oz) pkg diced pancetta
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon clover honey
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups packed arugula
- 1 Honeycrisp Apple
- ¼ cup crushed praline pecans
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Chop the stalks off of the fennel bulb. Half and core the bulb, then slice against the grain into quarter inch pieces. Clip off some fronds from the stalks to reserve for a finishing touch.
- Arrange the fennel with pancetta on a lightly greased, foil lined sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Take the sheet pan out of the oven and mix around with tongs, coating the fennel in the rendered pancetta fat. Place back in the oven and roast for 10 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, let’s mix up the dressing! In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard and clover honey. Slowly pour in the extra virgin olive oil, whisking constantly as you add. Salt and pepper to taste, then give it one last mix.
- Crush pecans by placing them in a plastic bag, put a rag over the bag to cushion, and whale away with a hammer. Set aside.
- Next, I thinly sliced a honeycrisp apple, then diced it into bite size pieces. Set aside.
- When the fennel and pancetta are done, it’s time to get out the rest of the ingredients and combine everything together!
- Scoop the fennel and pancetta into a large bowl, top with apples and arugula and toss away with a pair of tongs. I didn’t add the dressing until I scooped myself out a serving, but if serving for other people, go ahead and mix in half of the dressing.
- Put everything from the bowl in a serving dish and top with blue cheese crumbles, fennel fronds, and crushed praline pecans. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
- Enjoy! 😋
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