Apple Fennel & Kohlrabi Salad
September is the best month of the entire year to be a part of a CSA (actually–it’s pretty darn great all season if you ask me!) But September is special. It’s the time in the season when summer produce overlaps with the fall harvest and it’s a home-cooks culinary dream to cook with the season’s bounty. Sweet corn can be enjoyed in a bowl of warm soup on a cool and crisp evening (try my favorite sweet corn and coconut milk chowder!) Tomatoes can be slow roasted in the oven and enjoyed as a happy hour snack with just a sprinkling of sea salt and a cold beer (no recipe required!) Zucchini overlaps with winter squash and turning the oven on isn’t a big deal with the cool evening breeze. It’s my favorite month of the year and I hope the recipes that appear on here all September long will inspire you to cook through your CSA box or frequent your local farmers market as often as possible. This moment in time only lasts for a short while so if you can, make the most of it!
This week our CSA members are receiving quite the bounty! Their boxes have been pretty darn heavy these past few weeks but damn….the food has been wonderful. This week some of the items in their shares haven’t been around since the late spring and kohlrabi and fennel are making a quick comeback! It’s the beginning of the apple harvest in our neck of the woods so I couldn’t resist adding some fresh honey crisp apples to this seasonal salad. We tossed the veggies in a light cider and honey dressing and topped everything with some local raw blue cheese (from our favorite cheese makers Cascadia Creamery) and toasted walnuts. It really hit the spot and I’m looking forward to keeping this easy recipe in my back pocket for the rest of the season. This is a lovely side dish to serve with pasta, meat, fish or simply on it’s own with a slice of thick crusty bread for a light meal. It’s easy to prepare and bursting with fresh flavors from the season!
Cheers to September!
Apple Fennel & Kohlrabi Salad
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes Serves: 4
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium-small kohlrabies (about 1 1/4 pounds), stems and greens discarded (save for another use) peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks
- 1 medium sized fennel bulb, stems removed (save for another use) and very thinly sliced (a mandolin works well here) reserve a few fronds for serving
- 1 honey crisp apple (or another sweet apple), sliced into thin matchsticks (no need to peel)
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
- 1/4 cup good quality blue cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
Preparation
- In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, celery seeds, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until well combined.
- Add all the thinly sliced vegetables to the bowl and toss well to combine.
- Divide between plates and top with toasted walnuts, crumbled blue cheese, minced parsley and a few minced fennel fronds. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if need be.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary *Taste test as you go
This salad is AMAZING! We made it on lettuce and without fennel and it was so so good. The blue cheese is a must! And the parsley flavour melds really well with all of the other flavours – I usually hate parsley but really appreciated the role it played in this salad.
I’ve been craving this ever since I searched « fennel » on your site and it came up in the search results. I finally made it tonight even though I couldn’t find kohlrabi (subbed in celery root) and didn’t have blue cheese. It is so fresh and delicious! Officially one of my favorite of your salads. I haven’t been doing much cooking lately since I’ve been working long hours but I realized I have no excuses. You have the farm and a baby and farmers market days, on top of which you cook and manage your blog, write cookbooks, etc. Thanks for giving me a reason to get my butt back in the kitchen!
So happy to hear all of this! And I’m glad you got your butt back into the kitchen too! But never beat yourself up for ignoring the kitchen for a while. That’s what take-out is for! Happy cooking!!
This was a delicious way to use the Fennel and kohlrabi that came in our veg box. I will definitely make it again.
woohoo! So happy to hear!!