I got the basic idea for this salad from Damian Clisby, of Petersham Nurseries – it’s adapted from a recipe he donated to the fundraising book, #Cook For Syria, Roast Poussin Stuffed with Cous Cous, served with a fennel salad, nigella flatbreads, and yoghurt.

The Chief Taster HATES pomegranate seeds….but off he went on a business trip and that was my moment to try out the salad. Clisby’s version contained no oil at all in the dressing which I thought was a bit puritan; and I also added in some pomegranate molasses to give a fruity tang.

Simple, elegant, and fresh. As Clisby points out, “the idea of this salad is that it is zingy and crunchy”, so you could make the dressing at the last moment, and slice the fennel too ahead of time, but assemble it just before serving.

Recipe for fennel salad punctuated by pomegranate seeds

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb
• 80g/5 oz pomegranate seeds
• 4 stems of mint
• 8 stems of parsley
• Zest and juice of a lime
• 60ml/¼ cup/4 tbsps fruity olive oil
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Slice the fennel very finely and put it into a pretty salad bowl.
2. Snip in the herbs.
3. In a small bowl, mix the oil, pomegranate molasses, zest and juice of the lemon, and the seasoning. TASTE, and adjust. Toss.
4. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over.
5. Serve.

For more salad recipes on Saucy Dressings follow this link.

For more fennel recipes, follow this link.