Jasper White’s Fennel Slaw
Fennel is pares magically with all sorts of seafood. In this case it works to compliment crispy fried almond crusted fish similar to the way coleslaw is used traditionally. If you don’t have a mandolin, sharpen your knife, because the thinner you cut the fennel, the better this dish will be. The slaw is best served slightly chilled with fried seafood or warmed with grilled or baked fish.
2 small heads (10 ounce) or 1 large head fennel
1 small (4 ounce) sweet onion, such as Vidalia
Texas Sweet or Maui
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, chopped finely
1/4 cup green olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)
½ teaspoon sugar
kosher or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1. Trim off the fennel stalks, reserving the sprigs from
a few fronds for garnish. Chop the fronds finely (there should be about 2 tablespoons) and set them aside. Halve the bulbs from top to bottom, cut out and discard the cores. Trim the leathery outer pieces down to the tender flesh. Cut the bulb in half and then slice across the grain with a mandolin or knife to create very thin slices. Peel and halve the onion, then shave across the grain with a chef’s knife to create very thin slices.
2. Toss the fennel, chopped fennel fronds, onions, and fennel seeds together in a medium bowl. Add lemon, oil, sugar and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It is best made an hour or more ahead and then before allow the slaw to warm to a cool room temperature.
Makes about 1 quart.