The Melting Teapot

This was a pairing that I didn’t just stumble upon but actually planned.  It turned out to be an even better match than expected!

I considered the different elements in the salad -- fennel, apple, and lemon.  Then, I pondered the flavor profiles of various white wines we had on hand and decided that the green apple and lemon peel notes in a dry Riesling would match the apple and lemon elements of the food.  We pulled a bottle of wine from British Columbia, Canada:  2005 Hawthorne Mountain Riesling.

The lemon and apple flavors did indeed compliment each other, and the Riesling also really popped the flavor of the fennel.  The Riesling became an extension of the salad, promoting the flavors instead of overwhelming them, but still providing a fresh finish with each bite.

This pairing was one of those nice moments, where you just want more wine and more salad to keep experiencing the combination.

Hawthorne Mountain winery has since changed their name to See Ya Later Ranch, but they still make a good dry Riesling for a reasonable price.  If you don't often see Canadian wines where you shop, Washington state has several comparable rieslings with great QPRs, and they also pair very well with fresh fennel.

Fennel-Apple Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 fennel bulb, sliced very thin
• ¼ cup of fennel “feathers,” chopped fine
• 1 medium apple, cored, peeled or unpeeled, sliced very thin (pick an apple that isn’t too tart – stay away from granny smiths, for instance)
• lemon peel from one lemon (use a micro-grater)

Toss these together with:

• Juice from one lemon
• 1 turn of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (not a lot, just enough to lightly coat everything)
• Freshly ground Pepper
• Fennel Salt (if you don’t have any, just substitute with a pinch of sea salt)

Optional: if you taste and find it to be a bit too tart for you, add a touch of honey (warm the honey or dilute it with a bit of lemon juice, so it doesn’t just clump in one spot)


Some Tips:

1. If you have a mandolin, this is a great time to use it.  You want very thin slices of fennel and apple

2. Pepper really does seem to be important, so you might end up adding more than you expect.

3. I am a big fan of Volterra’s Fennel Salt, available online and at various Seattle-area shops.

4. Don’t throw away the leftover fennel stalks and fronds!  Remove a small handful of the fluffy green “feathers” for the salad, and put the stalks in the freezer for stock.  Fennel is a beautiful flavor element in any broth, but it is especially wonderful in vegetarian or seafood stocks. Even if you don’t make your own stocks from scratch, use it to add flavor to those bland boxed broths – toss in a fennel frond (and maybe one or two dried mushrooms), then simmer for 10-20 minutes before using the broth in a dish.  You’ll end up with a more flavorful base to whatever you’re cooking!

5. If you’ve never cleaned or sliced fresh fennel, watch this quick video: