Parsley, Fennel, and Celery Root Salad: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves10

Active time:45 min
Start to finish:45 min

November 2001

Parsley was long considered superfluous décor—a sprig on the edge of a dinner plate as a culinary corsage, or a discreet sprinkling of chopped color for a dish that’s too brown or too white. But it’s the star of this salad, and deservedly so. Curly and flat parsleys taste pretty much the same: Each has a fresh, delicate bitterness that hits the palate differently because of the distinctive shape of its leaves. The two combine to make our salad a particularly refreshing respite during a Thanksgiving feast or any other extensive, rich meal.

1 large fennel bulb with fronds (sometimes called anise; 1 1/4 lb)
4 1/2 cups small fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (from 3 large bunches)
1 1/2 cups small curly parsley sprigs (from 2 large bunches)
1 medium celery root (1 lb), peeled with a sharp knife and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallot
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Tear enough fennel fronds into small sprigs to measure 1 1/2 cups. Trim fennel stalks flush with bulb and discard stalks. Quarter bulb lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into paper-thin slices with a mandoline or other manual slicer. Toss sliced fennel with fronds, parsley, and celery root in a large bowl.
Whisk together lemon juice (to taste), shallot, sugar, salt, pepper, and oil in a small bowl. Toss salad with dressing.

Recipe by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

Photograph by Miki Duisterhof