Fennel, Celery, and Chickpea Salad

Having used up one alien vegetable the other day, I moved onto the next tonight . . . Fennel. Recipe for one very crunchy salad after the jump:

Fennel, Celery, and Chickpea Salad

Serves 2-4, depending on portion size

2 small or 1 medium bulb fennel (I had two little ones from my farm box)

3-4 stalks celery

about 6 oz. chickpeas

juice of 1/2 a lemon

olive oil

salt & pepper

Cook chickpeas (or warm, if using canned). Wash and trim fennel and celery stalks. You might need to remove the tough outer fennel layer (or not! It's a case-by-case kind of thing). 

Using a food processor or mandolin, thinly slice fennel and celery. Make dressing by combining lemon juice and olive oil in approx. a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio, add salt & pepper to taste. (Start with equal parts lemon juice and olive oil and add more olive oil to taste). Place sliced fennel and celery in a bowl and top with chickpeas, dressing, and shaved parmesan (optional).

This salad was marvelously crunchy and surprising. The fennel and celery are nearly the same texture, but have strikingly different, yet complimentary flavors. This would have been nice with sliced green apple as well. LCBF was skeptical at first, but came around and decided he liked it. It's not quite substantial enough to be a main dish, but would make an excellent side salad. Maybe with some BBQ seitan (or pulled pork, says LCBF). It also takes mere minutes to make, which is awesome.