SEAFOOD, FENNEL & LIME SALAD

This is an amazingly delicious salad that it is very easy to make, once you have all ingredients prepared. Cutting the fennel with a mandoline is fast and I love it cut very thinly when eating it raw. This time I added a couple of scampi that were given to us as a present by the fishmonger... I love them, but they are usually so expensive, that only buy them for especial occasions. Will certainly make this salad again. Loved it!

Ingredients

2 small fennel bulbs
½ red onion, very thinly sliced
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, crushed
10g dill, roughly chopped
10g parsley, roughly chopped
1 mild chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
60ml olive oil
8 tiger prawns, peeled and de-veined
350g cleaned baby squid
1 tbsp sumac
10g coriander, roughly chopped
pomegranate seeds, to garnish (optional)
flaky sea salt

Method

Trim the bases and tops of the fennel bulbs, then slice width wise as thinly as you can. A mandolin would be useful here. In a large bowl, mix the fennel and red onion with the lime juice and zest, garlic, dill, parsley, chilli, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

Place a heavy cast-iron pan, preferably a griddle pan, over a high heat and leave for a few minutes until piping hot. Meanwhile, mix the prawns and squid with the rest of the oil and a pinch of salt. Grill them in small batches, turning them over after 1 minute and continuing until just done (roughly 1 more minute for the squid and 2- 3 for the prawns). Transfer to a chopping board and slice the squid into thick rings. You can leave the prawns whole or cut them in half.

Add the seafood to the salad bowl and toss together. You can serve immediately or leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. To serve, stir in the sumac and coriander, then taste and adjust the seasoning. When pomegranate is available, it makes a beautiful garnish.

Serves 4 

This time we had Mogabriah salad on the side.

Notes from the author

Fennel, herbs and seafood go together like sun, sea and sandcastles. You can almost smell the Mediterranean here in this dish, which needs little more than a glass of white wine alongside. it can be either a stand-alone starter or light lunch, with some fresh crusty bread to mop up the juices, or else served as part of a mezze selection. This can be made up to a day before serving, up to the point before the sumac and coriander are added.