Shaved Fennel Salad With Grapefruit and Pear
Sasha Goreshtein is a Montreal-based home cook who calls hosting her love language and cooking her therapy. She grew up watching her mom cook, and now, as a mom herself, she's finding that spark again through experimenting with new flavors and gathering people around her table.
- Side
Raw fennel sliced thin under a honey citrus dressing, with zero cook time and 115 calories a serving.
If you don’t like fennel, this salad will change your mind. Sliced thin and tossed in a simple citrus dressing, raw fennel loses most of the licorice edge people brace for, and turns crisp and faintly sweet instead. This fennel salad takes about 15 minutes, needs no cooking at all, and can easily be made ahead. Grapefruit segments and thin slices of pear go in with celery and a generous amount of fresh dill, and chopped pecans land on top at the end. It comes in at 115 calories a serving and feeds four.
Why This Works
Fennel is mostly water and fiber, which is why a serving of this fills out a plate at 115 calories. It carries anethole, the compound behind its licorice scent, and the grapefruit alongside it brings vitamin C. Most of the fat comes from 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of pecans, and that fat earns its place: a little of it alongside raw vegetables helps with absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins they carry. The dressing leans on citrus juice and red wine vinegar rather than anything creamy, with half a tablespoon of honey to round off the grapefruit’s bitterness. Time in the refrigerator does the rest, since the fennel and celery soften slightly as they sit in the dressing.
Nutrition (per serving)
| Calories | 115 |
|---|---|
| Protein | 1g |
| Carbs | 13g |
| Fat | 8g |
Ingredients
For the Salad:
| Fennel bulb | 1 |
|---|---|
| Celery sticks | 2 |
| Grapefruit | ½ |
| Pear | ½ |
| Fresh dill | 1 Bunch |
| Fennel fronds | From the bulb |
| Pecans | 6 |
For the Dressing:
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp |
|---|---|
| Grapefruit juice | Juice of ½ grapefruit |
| Honey | ½ tbsp |
| Red wine vinegar | ½–1 tbsp |
| Salt | To taste |
| Pepper | To taste |
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 Slice the fennel and celery
Slice the fennel bulb and the celery sticks thinly.
2 Segment the grapefruit
Segment half the grapefruit into small pieces, reserving the other half for the dressing.
3 Slice the pear
Slice the pear thinly.
4 Chop the herbs
Chop the fresh dill and the fennel fronds.
5 Combine the salad
Add the fennel, celery, grapefruit, pear, dill, and fennel fronds to a large bowl.
6 Whisk the dressing
Whisk the olive oil, grapefruit juice, honey, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper until well combined.
7 Dress and toss
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until all the ingredients are well coated.
8 Add the pecans
Chop the pecans and sprinkle them on top.
9 Let it sit and serve
Let the salad sit to absorb the flavors, then serve.
Notes & Tips
- Can you eat fennel raw? Yes, and raw is where it is at its best in a salad. Cooking turns fennel soft and sweet; left raw and sliced thin, it stays crisp and the anise note sits in the background rather than taking over.
- What does fennel taste like? Faintly of licorice or anise, with a texture closer to celery than to onion. The citrus and the honey in the dressing soften that flavor considerably, which is why this is a reasonable introduction for anyone who thinks they dislike it.
- Can you make fennel salad ahead of time? Yes. Refrigerate it before serving so the salad absorbs the dressing and develops more flavor. It is an easy one to make ahead.
- Add the pear last. Slice and add the pear right before serving to keep it fresh and avoid browning.
- How do you cut a fennel bulb? Trim the stalks, halve the bulb through the root, then cut out the tough core at the base. Slice each half crosswise as thin as you can manage, or run it over a mandoline. Save the feathery fronds, since they go into the salad.
- Swap the pecans. Any favorite nut or seed works in their place, or add dried cranberries for extra sweetness.
Sasha Goreshtein is a Montreal-based home cook who calls hosting her love language and cooking her therapy. She grew up watching her mom cook, and now, as a mom herself, she's finding that spark again through experimenting with new flavors and gathering people around her table.
