Sometimes, I love to sit down and read cook books… well, watch, more than read! I just love cookbooks. They are such a great source of inspiration. I wish I had hundreds. But then again, if I had that many, I wouldn’t have time to go through all of them and try those recipes that inspire me. Some of them I really want to try so I tag them with little colored post-its. Tonight’s salad was one of them. However, I had to wait until I was alone to try it because no one here would’ve cared to eat it, really. My daughter doesn’t like fennel or celery and my son hates fruits and/or nuts in salads.
Well, guess what? Tonight, I was alone and I jumped at the occasion! I don’t regret it one bit. This salad is simply as yummy as it looks. Fresh, crunchy and sweet, yet tangy, it feels just like summer but looks just like Christmas, with all its greens and its reds. With such beautiful colors, it’s just as nice to look at as it is to eat… if you love fruits and nuts in your salad, and if you happen to like fennel and celery, that is!
Looks just like Christmas
I will definitely be having that one again, probably sooner than later! I think I might even consider taking that one for lunch at work. The apples might oxidize a bit, but I don’t think it would make it any less good. And it would sure change from my usual mixed greens and veggies with cottage cheese. Yep. I might very well do that. Darn. I should’ve made a full recipe instead of cutting it in half. Then I would have some leftover for tomorrow. Oh well, guess I’ll have to wait until next week: I’m all out of fennel. I shouldn’t have mixed it in with my greens.
Ingredients
(serves 2-3)
- 1 cup thinly sliced fennel
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
- 2 Red Delicious apples, diced
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Poppy Seed Dressing
- ½ cup Balkan Style Plain Yogurt (I used low fat)
- 2 tbsp liquid honey
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp Poppy seeds
- Pinch salt
- Pinch paprika
Instructions
- For the poppy seed dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, honey, lemon juice, mustard, poppy seeds, salt and paprika until smooth.
- Add fennel, celery, grapes and apple, toss to coat.
- Serve sprinkled with walnuts and fennel leaves. (I served mine on a bed of arugula)
Source Canadian Living: The Vegetarian Collection
Cool, I always like to have a fresh fruit/veggie salad in a sunny day. This will actually make your day even brighter.
For more interesting salad recipes, you can go to the following website:
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/salads
Check it out!
Ooooo! Great site. Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely be checking it out and get some inspiration from them!
Delicious Salad. Thanks for sharing!
That salad looks great, thanks for the inspiration, just happen to have some fennel in my fridge, think I may try this one – love your pictures by the way.
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! If you do try out this salad, make sure you let me know how the experience turned out for you!
Tried your salad today and it was great…I love the dressing too – thanks so much for the great idea. I ended up using dried cranberries because I didn’t have grapes on hand, they worked nicely too.
YAY! So happy to hear it worked for you. Thank you so much for sharing your appreciation of this recipe with me. That’s just the best kind of feedback!!
Cranberries must’ve been very good too! Brilliant idea!
I like your dressing concept. I did a similar salad recently with a different kind of dressing. Here’s the link if you would like to see it http://www.adoctorskitchen.com/archives/trufflehead-chicken-waldorf-salad
Deborah
I like your version too, Deborah, but I would probably replace the mayo, even though it’s low fat, with plain yogurt. I find mayo just doesn’t add anything nutrition wise and contains way too much unnecessary fat. Plus, I love the tangy taste of plain yogurt.
This salad is right up my alley – love all the crunchiness and the tangy creamy dressing. My kids are pretty good eaters but there are definitely recipes I would make just for me to try that they might not enjoy.
I have discovered fennel this year and love it. I imagine with apples the flavors would be delicious!
I love this salad! Definitely making it again. I used muscat grapes. They worked really well with the fennel. Thanks!
Thanks Danielle! Glad to know you liked it too!