A Lift In Its Step

      

      Focused on how cold I generally am during the winter (and it is cold in this northern corner of the world where the wind whips through the streets unmercifully), I wear blinders when it comes to food, tending to prepare and eat heaps upon heaps of velvety, slow-cooked cabbage or greens with a poached egg or a piece of buttered toast. Recently though, in acquiring a gorgeous bone-in hunk of beef and braising it for seven hours in pinot noir, allspice and garlic, something with a lift in its step was requested. 

      Thinly sliced "pressed" cabbage salads are staples in the Macro Mama kitchen in the Fingerlakes, where Amy and I used to work. Macrobiotics believes that if you start a meal with a bite of something even slightly fermented (sauerkraut, kimchi, etc) you ingest and ignite digestive enzymes, royally helping your body in the absorption/break down process. This shaved fennel salad is inspired by such dishes but is very quick and light, a perfect and zippy accoutrement to anything that is otherwise weighty in its nourishing duties.

Shaved Fennel Salad with Fried Fennel Seeds and a Lemon Vinaigrette

inspired by Peggy Aker

       Read the instructions carefully. They are wordy but uncomplicated; once you get the hang of it, you can spread your wings and do it with all sorts of vegetables and various dressings.

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, long stalks and tough bottom trimmed, young fennel fronds saved

1 green onion (scallion), slivered

1/4 t sea salt

1 T olive oil

1 t fennel seeds

1 T lemon juice

1 t honey, maple syrup or sugar

another 1/4 t sea salt

Process

     

     Slice the trimmed fennel bulb lengthwise in half. Place the cut-side down on the cutting board and as thinly as possible, with a sharp knife or mandolin, slice lengthwise (pole to pole, top to bottom). The fennel fronds that are near the top of the bulb are especially sweet and anise-imbued -- chop them like fresh dill and add to the sliced fennel in a bowl.

      Once the fennel is prepared, add the slivered green onion and sea salt. Toss the ingredients together with your fingers, squeezing now and then, so that the fennel, fronds and green onion is coated with the salt. Place a plate atop the mixture and press down, placing a weight on top -- a few books, some bags or cans of beans, etc. *

      Prepare the lemon juice, sweetener and salt and place it in a small bowl by the stove. Over a medium flame, heat the olive oil in a small skillet. When the oil shimmers, indicating that it's hot, add the fennel seeds, stirring constantly. When the the seeds start to brown (not blacken!) after a minute or so, remove them from the heat. Immediately add the lemon juice, sweetener and salt. With the back of a spoon or with a pestle, if you've got one, gently crush the fennel seeds into the dressing -- no need to go crazy and pulverize the lot, just a few presses to release the licorice aroma.

      Gently toss the dressing into the pressed fennel so that it's entirely coated. Taste for salt and add more if necessary. Serve along side meats, fatty fish, or a hearty dish of baked beans.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Rest time (for the fennel): anywhere from 10 minutes to a day

* Pressing the salted vegetables with a weight begins the fermentation process. The longer you do it, the more fermented it becomes. This is not how you make sauerkraut -- just a simple pressed salad. Pressing it for 10 minutes will suffice; any longer is fine, but do refrigerate it after four hours.

Writing, Styling and Photography by Adria Lee (Amy is at work)