Showing posts with label red onion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label red onion. Show all posts

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Grilled Fennel Salad

Grilled fennel and purple onions, simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, make a lovely fresh salad.

When I was a young girl, I didn’t know anyone with a food allergy.   By the time my own babies came along and grew to school-age, a couple of their classmates were mildly allergic to nuts.   Now it seems like allergies and intolerances are rampant and many have become life-threatening.  Which is rather scary.  I am in awe of the parents who work hard to make life normal for those children, working on recipes that eliminate the offending ingredients but still taste great.

Our host for this week’s Sunday Supper , Bea of The Not So Cheesy Kitchen, is one such mom.  Her daughters cannot eat milk sugar (lactose) in any form, so her blog is a fabulous dairy-free resource with delicious recipes.  Most posts include photos of her adorable daughters offering their opinion on the dishes with one or two thumbs up, which means that Bea’s recipes are not only healthy but kid-friendly and approved.  Which, I am sure you will agree, is very important to a successful Sunday Supper.

This week the Sunday Supper group explores “free-from” recipes, so there are tasty options for everyone, no matter what their food allergies or diet restrictions.

Ingredients
1 large or 2-3 small fennel bulbs, preferably with some fronds
1 small purple onion
Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method
Cut the frond off of the fennel bulbs and set aside.  Trim the tough stems and discard.  Now cut the bulbs from top to bottom into slices which are a little skinnier than half an inch or 1 cm thick.



Slice the onion very thinly.


Put the onion in your salad bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.  Squeeze over the juice of your lemon.  Set aside.  This will take some of the sharpness out of the raw onion.



Heat your griddle pan till it is searing hot.  Lay the fennel slices on the griddle and weigh them down with something heavy, like a full kettle.  Cook for three to four minutes or until the fennel softens just slightly and there are lovely char marks on one side.



Turn the fennel slices over and weigh them down again.  Cook for another three or four minutes, making sure to get some charred lines on the other side.


Remove the fennel to a cutting board and allow to cool.


Chop the grilled fennel up and add it to the salad bowl.


Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.  Give the whole thing a good stir and add more salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.


Top with the chopped fennel fronds.


I served this alongside the smothered pork chops and potatoes from my recent Mothers' Day post.     It is a great fresh complement to a rich meal.


Enjoy!


Have a look at all the wonderful "free from" recipes this week.  It's a fabulous round up of flavor!

Breakfast

  • Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut & Soy Free Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding by girlichef
  • Dairy & Nut and Sugar Free Blueberry Tangerine Muffins by Vintage Kitchen
  • Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut, and Soy Free Homemade Mango Jam Recipe by Masala Herb

Main Courses

Sides

Breads

Treats

Drinks