Fennel & Hazelnut Salad

My friend @leeksnbeets was kind enough to invite me to take part in the Christmas collab #cleangreenvegsmas Of course I’m happy to create a recipe that might inspire someone to add something new and green to their Christmas table! My contribution is a light and fresh salad with wintery flavours. Make sure you follow the hashtag #cleangreenvegsmas to see what my friends come up with – I know it will be good!
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In this recipe, I’ve used pickled red onions. You have to make them at least 4 hours before making the salad. If you thinks it’s too much work, just skip them or substitute with fresh red onion, carrots of something else you might like!
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Ingredients:
1 small fennel
1/2 green apple, like Granny Smith
1/2 lemon
0,5 dl pickled red onion
0,5 dl hazelnuts
0,5 dl pomegranate arils
olive oil
salt
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Method:
Roast the whole hazelnuts in a dry pan. Leave to cool.
Cut the fennel in half and remove the hard stem. Slice the fennel in very thin slices. Remove the seeds from the apple and slice thinly. Squeeze the lemon over the fennel and apple and toss. (They brown quickly if you don’t add lemon.)
Add pickled red onion (see recipe below) and pomegranate arils. Decorate with the fennel “dill” tips. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.
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Quickly pickled onions
2 red onions
1 dl white vinegar
2 dl caster sugar
3 dl water
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Thinly slice the onions. Put in a clean, dry glass jar. Bring vinegar, sugar and water to boil in a pot. Immediately pour the liquid over the onions. Press down with a fork to make sure it’s all covered. Close the lid and leave to cool. It’s ready to eat as soon as it has cooled, and will last a couple of weeks in the fridge. This method can also be used for other vegetables like carrots, cucumber, peppers, etc.