Roasted Fennel Salad with White Bean Sauce
Simple, nourishing and incredibly delicious Fennel Salad! This healthy side dish is loaded with nutrients and Mediterranean flavors. A scrumptious, fancy-looking salad that’s 100% plant-based and so damn tasty!
Ingredients
FENNEL SALAD:
- 2 medium fennel bulbs, about 1 pound / 450 grams when weighing just the bulbs
- 1 15 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed – or 1 ½ cups of cooked white beans
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp grainy mustard
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 cups radicchio, thinly sliced
- 2 medium oranges, peeled, sliced into thin rounds, then cut into smaller pieces
- ⅓ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped*
WHITE BEAN SAUCE:
- ½ cup white beans, leftover from the can listed above
- ½ cup fennel fronds, tightly packed
- 3 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, can substitute with tahini
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp coconut nectar or maple syrup
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390 F / 200 C.
- Cut the fennel bulbs: trim off the stalks and fronds (save the fronds, you’ll use them later) so that you are left with the white bulbs. Halve the fennel bulbs lengthways. Remove (and discard) the root and tough part of the core. Then slice the bulb into thin strips.
- Pat dry the white beans with a paper towel.
- Add sliced fennel, 1 cup of white beans (save the remaining ½ cup for the sauce), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard and sea salt to a baking sheet. Use your hands or a big spoon to mix everything up. Make sure the vegetables and beans are well coated and arrange them in a single layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss, and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes. Until the fennel has caramelized on the edges and the beans are golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- While the fennel is in the oven, make the white bean sauce. Add the remaining ½ cup of white beans to a high-speed blender. Add fennel fronds, water, olive oil or tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, coconut nectar or maple syrup and sea salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer them to a big bowl, add radicchio, oranges and ½ the hazelnuts. Toss to combine.
- To serve, spread a thin layer of sauce on a big shallow bowl or serving platter. Add the salad on top of the sauce. Top with the remaining hazelnuts and some fennel fronds. Serve with more sauce on the side. I rarely use all the sauce; I think too much sauce can outshine the other flavors. I just save the leftover sauce for another salad.
- Enjoy!
Notes
* To toast the hazelnuts, place them on a baking sheet (no oil) and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the oven and rub them with a kitchen towel to remove loose skins. Don’t worry if some of the skins don’t come off. Cool completely.