Nigel Slater's Fennel and Olive Salad

I have been eating an alarming amount of cheese lately. Pecorino sardo, a fat baton of which plus five water crackers made my dinner the other night, a snowy, fresh goat cheese eaten at sundown on Sunday night with a nice red wine, a wondrous English farmhouse cheddar that tasted faintly of pears studded with crystals of salt, a Pont L'Eveque set out on the counter, growing stinkier by the minute. I don't know what's come over me. Cheese is usually just a brief punctuation in my meals - a light dusting of Parmesan on pasta, a thin sliver of a nice blue while I cook, just to keep my mouth watering, or a little slice after dinner, to keep Ben company or because I've foregone dessert.

I'm not sure if it's the heat, or the disorientation I still feel from the move. Suddenly, cheese for dinner has become an awfully convenient meal. Plus, we've got a cheese store now, one that smells like the underground cheesemonger my mother used to take me to in Berlin, before prosciutto and mozzarella became household words, when Italy still was a faraway, exotic land, even to the Germans. We'd walk down a set of rickety stairs to an underground lair, cool and stinky, where an old Italian man would gesticulate and talk wildly, selling olives and cheese and cured meats and blocks of dark chocolate, wrapped in wax paper that my mother would store in the cupboards and grate over my yogurt some mornings, shards of it flying around the kitchen table, delighting me to no end.

Our cheese shop in Forest Hills has that similar chill and that old, familiar funk. There are St. Marcellins, wrinkled and gooey, milky mozzarelle from Italy, dusty salamis, and raw milk cheese from France. There are fragrant olives in bins and crusty loaves of bread by the door. Something about standing in this store, the pickled herring in the refrigerated case, the German chocolates on the shelves and the smell that reminds me of another time and place, makes me feel warm and comforted and recognized somehow. Plucking a bag of mozzarella di bufala from its watery bucket feels like second-nature.

At home last night, I thumbed through Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries, alighting on a simple August meal he made for himself of grilled fennel and mozzarella. It sounded irresistible. I sliced a bulb of fennel thinly and broiled it on both sides, until the edges were charred and crispy and the fennel was sweet and mellow. In a bowl, I stirred together olive oil, some pitted Nicoise olives and a handful of fresh parsley leaves. The broiled fennel went into the bowl, the heat releasing the aromatics in an invisible puff. I piled the salad on a slice of broiled, garlic-rubbed bread and slid half a mozzarella ball alongside it.

The salad? Un-Be-Lievably Good. Like, This-Is-The-Only-Way-I-Might-Ever-Eat-Fennel-Again Good. It was sweet, salty, grassy and herbal, it was chewy and crispy and soft and even a little prickly, when a parsley leaf got in the way. It was, in a word, perfection. But the mozzarella got left in the dust. It was too waxy, too sour and just not right for the symphony of flavors going on beside it. I forked the rest of my cheese over to Ben's plate and concentrated happily on the remaining salad.

Which is really just as well, as I think my waistline was starting to swell. I'm sort of relieved that the salad broke the cheese spell. And as long as I can eat salad like this every night for the next week, I don't think I'll even miss that other stuff.

Fennel and Olive Salad
Serves 4

2 medium-sized heads of fennel
5 tablespoons of olive oil
24 black olives (I used Nicoise)
1 small bunch of flat-leafed parsley
2 balls of mozzarella di bufala, optional (if you do buy these, only the best, please)

1. Heat a grill or a broiler. Slice the stalks and fronds from the bulbs. Slice the bulbs into thing slices, no thicker than 1/8 of an inch. Grill or broil the fennel, letting it color first on one side, then the other.

2. Pour the olive oil into a bowl and add the olives. Pull the parsley leaves from the stalks and add to the olive oil with some salt and pepper. Take the fennel off the grill or broiler and drop it into the bowl. Toss gently.

3. Divide the salad among four plates. If using, split the mozzarella or slice thickly, then lay the pieces on top of the salad. Drizzle remaining dressing over the cheese or add a little more olive oil.

Comments

[amy]

looks amazing!

[tokyoastrogirl]

This looks very much like a Nancy Silverton creation that she serves up at her mozzarella bar at Osteria Mozza. I've always loved the idea of topping a crisp slice of bread with whatever was on hand- whether it be a salad, some cheese or wilted veggies dusted with sea salt. It makes me feel so...cosmopolitan (guess it doesn't take much!). Add a glass of wine and it's pretty much the perfect meal! I would bet that this fennel salad would taste terrific with a gooey, creamy dollop of burrata instead of the bufala.

Anyway, as always- thanks for another wonderful post.

[ann]

I heart the idea of broiling fennel! I never would have thought of that. Nigel is a genius.

Now, let's talk about mozz. Here's the thing. The fresher, the better. If the mozz is colder than your hand, it's no longer good. If it's traveled by air, it's no longer good. If it's been refrigerated in any way at any time, it's no longer good.

I hate to say it, but imported mozzarella di bufala will never be as good as the stuff you buy at the local Italian store, made with raw milk, organic milk, cow milk or buffalo milk or whatever else. It's all about time and freshness. Find a place that will sell you a ball fresh out of the vat of hot water and try this salad with that cheese. I bet it will shake your world!

Okay, I'll get off my cheesebox now :-)

[Tammy]

Nice picture! Feels like those fennel fronds are going to reach out and pull me in. I wouldn't object.

[Luisa]

Anne - burrata might be very nice here, you're right!

Ann - Actually, the broiling was my idea... :) As for the cheese, I'm going to have to disagree with you here. I've had that mozzarella that you speak of, pulled out of a vat of milky water, in little Italian food shops in this city and I find it insipid and bland and absolutely not worth my time or my money. It doesn't have any of that complexity of flavor, that sour tang, that lovely elasticity and creaminess, that oozing quality that the real thing has. Yes, it's true that imported Italian mozzarella isn't as good as Italian mozzarella that hasn't traveled a few thousand miles, but it's still better than the stuff you can find here. At least to my taste buds it is.

[david]

I love the new look of your site...great makeover!

(Who's that girl in the upper left, though?)

[Andrea]

This officially has made me hungry!
I adore fennel so much but sadly it's just one of those things I tend to make the same way (sauteed). I thought this recipe on serious eats today for miso soup with fennel also looked good: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/08/cook-the-book-miso-soup-with-f.html

[Kevin]

You know, I have to agree with you. The bocconcini, even at a reputable Italian grocer, is still pretty boring. I keep threatening to make it from scratch. One of these days...

[Su-Lin]

Mmmm...I haven't had a single problem with any of the Nigel Slater recipes I've tried. I love his Kitchen Diaries! I tried broiling fennel once but it didn't caramelise properly. I'm going to have to try that again - thanks for the reminder!

[Lydia]

First, I must tell you that I love the new design of this site -- much easier to read, too. Well done, Luisa! I'm one of those people who doesn't like raw fennel, but I love it cooked (grilled, roasted, in soup, whatever). For this recipe, I might toss the olives in with the fennel to broil them, too. Warm olives are delicious!

[Hillary]

I've been seeing fennel all over lately, and I love it! Great recipe! :)

[Christine]

Oh, I love the cheese. And let us not talk about my waistline...because otherwise I might not ask you what brand of cheddar you were eating.

Because what was it?

I think a few years ago at this point, I had the tastiest cheddar of my life. And I LOVED that it developed salt crystals (like the kind you would find in an aged Italian cheese). I searched all over for another one, and finally called up some cheesemaker in Wisconsin who informed me that cheddar crystals are considered a defect, and are not desired. It shames me to say it, but it made me very sad, because I thought it was delicious.

[ann]

lol, I guess I'm shopping at the wrong shops then! maybe we should have a mozzarella-off!

[Mercedes]

I love the idea of broiled or grilled fennel. I think a big pile of soft fennel with a few shavings of pecorino romano should be making its way to my plate soon...

[Grant]

I love the idea of broiling the fennel. I don't know why I don't utillize my broiler more than I do. And then combining it with the cheese and garlic rubbed toast? Brilliance. I'm loving pretty much anything right now as long as it's stacked on a warm, crusty slice of nice bread rubbed with garlic. I think I need to go find me some fennel.

[Tea]

This dish looks wonderful--but I especially love your new photo! And the photo of your bookshelves! Seems like you've moved in and are making yourself at home in all sorts of ways. I am so glad.

[Sharon]

As a former Forest Hills-ian, I miss the cheese store terribly! I highly reccomend the rosemary rolls, right by the door. And the cornichons. And the halava by the slice. The cheeses are pretty special too.

[Luisa]

David - thanks! As for that girl, well, I figured it was time to come out of profile, you know?

Andrea - sadly, why sadly? Sauteed is yummy, though I am particularly partial to braised. Well, when not eaten raw. Or broiled, I suppose. I give up.

Kevin - oh, I will be so beyond impressed if you make your own mozzarella. Seriously.

Su-Lin - isn't it the greatest book? And he's the greatest writer, love him. Try the fennel broiled again! It's so worth it.

Lydia - thank you! I'm glad it's easier to read. Warm olives are so delicious - I've got a recipe for foil-wrapped baked ones that I have to try.

Hillary - I'm glad you do! Some people don't like the anise flavor, but when they figure out how to tame it, they're so happy.

Christine - that's so interesting, I had no idea! This cheddar didn't actually have any crystals in it, it was just so perfectly sweet and savory yet tasted of pear, oh goodness, I'm glad there's still some left. It has a dark red wax rind if that helps identifying it at all...

Ann - that sounds like a good idea! And if by then we can locate a good source of buffalo milk, maybe we can join Kevin in making our own!? :)

Mercedes - yum...

Grant - I hear you on the broiler thing. In the new apartment, our oven is actually at now at eye-level, which means the broiler can be accessed without stooping and I am wondering if that's the trick, because since moving in, I have used that broiler more times than I did in the entire 2 years in my old apartment. It's such an amazing tool to have!

Tea - thank you! I thought it was time to change things up a bit...

Sharon - I've been eyeing those rolls and the cornichons for 2 weeks now! I'm glad they get the thumbs-up. I'll be trying them soon, I know.

[Larry]

I don't know what dish I like better - the one on the upper left or the one with the fennel!!
I like the new site as well. Was hoping to visit the city but that fell through so I will have to continue living there vicariously - like I want a cheese shop like that!
Keep up the great writing and congrats on the new place.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Luisa,
I'm crazy about cheese, too. I think I'll have a problem when I visit France next month - so much cheese, so little time! :)

Your salad looks delicious!

[libby]

me + cheese = bad news bears

i loooove brie and camembert!
and that salad looks incredible!

[CattyinQueens]

Moving vertigo notwithstanding, I hope you are enjoying your new place in Forest Hills and Cheese of the World! I think the S.S. Natural grocery has a good cheese selection too. I moved to Forest Hills a year ago, and while there are many things that aren't ideal (it's unfortunately the kind of place where there's a TGIFridays--and one that clearly gets a lot of business), I really like it here.

[Barbara]

Sliced fennel is also deeply good sliced in 1/4" slices and roasted at 425 degrees with olive oil.

Also yummy: fennel puree. Cut fennel into chunks, put in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes till tender(and it gets tender surprisingly fast). Drain very well, then puree in processor. Doesn't need any butter or oil, just a little salt.
And it is this beautiful celadon green color.