SHAVED FENNEL & RADISH SALAD WITH PICKLED PEACHES

Shaved fennel & radish salad with pickled peaches image

Celebrate fennel season in mid-summer with this delightful side salad. It's made with radishes, shavings of lancashire cheese, basil, mint and pickled peaches

Provided by Rosie Birkett

Time 33m

Yield Serves 4 as a side

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

50g whole skin-on almonds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp rapeseed oil
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 fennel bulbs
1 lemon , juiced
4 radishes , very finely sliced (preferably on a mandoline) and plunged into iced water
20g lancashire cheese , thinly shaved using a vegetable peeler
handful of basil
handful of mint leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 ripe peaches (flat or doughnut peaches work well), stoned and cut into thick slices
50g caster sugar
100ml white wine or rice vinegar
1 star anise

Steps:

First, make the pickled peaches. Put the peach slices in a bowl and set aside. Tip the remaining ingredients into a saucepan with 50ml water and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins. Pour the mixture over the peaches and leave to pickle for at least 30 mins, or up to a few hours.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the almonds and fennel seeds on a baking tray, drizzle with the rapeseed oil, and sprinkle over the smoked paprika and a little salt. Toss to coat. Bake for 8 mins, or until toasted and slightly crisp.
Pull away any tough outer leaves from the fennel bulbs (you can keep these to use for stock). Trim the bases, and remove the stems and fronds (again, reserving these for stock, if you like). Slice the bulbs in half along their cores, then lay them, cut-side down, on a chopping board. Very finely slice each half into half-moons, then tip into a bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice. Meanwhile, drain the pickled peach slices.
Drain the radishes and combine with the fennel and a large pinch of salt. Leave to sit for a few minutes, then stir in the peaches, most of the cheese and half the herbs. Drizzle with the olive oil and scatter over the toasted almonds and fennel seeds. Garnish with the rest of the herbs, and a bit more cheese.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 214 calories, Fat 16 grams fat, SaturatedFat 3 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 10 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 7 grams sugar, Fiber 3 grams fiber, Protein 6 grams protein, Sodium 0.2 milligram of sodium