Claudia Roden's Fennel, Peach and Goat Cheese Salad
Refreshing, unusual and beautiful, this summer salad is adapted from Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean. We love the fact that it includes the delicate fennel fronds; when you choose your fennel, try to choose a bulb or bulbs with plenty of them. Start it about an hour before you want to serve it, as the peaches marinate in the dressing. Because they marinate, they don’t need to be super-ripe. If they are on the riper side, cut the marination time to 30 minutes.
Roden calls for “mild, soft fresh goat cheese”; we used the kind easily found shrink-wrapped in logs in the supermarket dairy case.
Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients
3 large orange-fleshed peaches
6 tablespoons / 90 ml best-quality olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large fennel bulb, or 2 small ones
2 small cucumbers, peeled and sliced, or 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
8 ounces / 225 grams mild, soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
1. Drop the peaches into boiling water for a few seconds, then drain, run cold water over them and let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel them (the peel will slip right off), cut them in half, then cut each half into six slices, removing the pits. Put them in a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and five or six grinds of black pepper. Pour 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the peaches, and toss gently until they’re well coated. Set the remaining dressing aside. Let the peaches sit for about 1 hour, turning them in the dressing halfway through.
3. Trim the end(s) of the fennel bulb(s) and remove any tough outer layers. Reserve any feathery fronds and use a sharp knife to cut the fennel into very thin, long slices.
4. Just before serving, put the fennel and cucumber on a wide serving plate and toss with the remaining dressing. Taste a small piece of the fennel, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the peaches and goat cheese and pour in the juices from the peaches. Sprinkle on the feathery fennel fronds.
Claudia Roden's Fennel, Peach and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
- 3 large orange-fleshed peaches
- 6 tablespoons / 90 ml best-quality olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large fennel bulb, or 2 small ones
- 2 small cucumbers, peeled and sliced, or 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 8 ounces / 225 grams mild, soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Drop the peaches into boiling water for a few seconds, then drain, run cold water over them and let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel them (the peel will slip right off), cut them in half, then cut each half into six slices, removing the pits. Put them in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and five or six grinds of black pepper. Pour 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the peaches, and toss gently until they’re well coated. Set the remaining dressing aside. Let the peaches sit for about 1 hour, turning them in the dressing halfway through.
- Trim the end(s) of the fennel bulb(s) and remove any tough outer layers. Reserve any feathery fronds and use a sharp knife to cut the fennel into very thin, long slices.
- Just before serving, put the fennel and cucumber on a wide serving plate and toss with the remaining dressing. Taste a small piece of the fennel, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the peaches and goat cheese and pour in the juices from the peaches. Sprinkle on the feathery fennel fronds.
