A simple summer salad of fennel, edamame, and onion

I went most of my life without having fennel. Then one day I had it roasted, the next raw, and I was in love. Surprising, given that I'm not very partial to anise flavoring.

While fennel is very versatile to cook with - you can boil, braise, fry, grill, roast, sauté, or steam it - my favorite way to eat fennel is raw. It makes spectacular salads:

Fennel, edamame, and onion salad

Fennel, edamame, and onion salad

Ingredients:

  • Raw fennel bulb, stalk, and leaves, raw and chopped
  • Edamame, cooked and out of the pods
  • Onion, raw and very finely diced
  • Olive oil
  • Freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Kosher salt

Preparation:

  1. Combine all ingredients to taste. Let combine for at least an hour before serving; the longer you wait, the better the flavors will mesh and the less pungent the onions will be.

This salad is even better when you add in chopped raw mushrooms.