Recipe: Fantastic Fennel and Fiddleheads!

Here's one of our favourite recipes, a grilled summertime salad especially for new mothers, cottage trips & vegans.  It's excellent to bring over when visiting new babies as its delicious and easy to eat with one hand as well as fennel being a great galactagogue that also seems to help with a colicy or refluxy baby.

This is inspired by Molly Katzen‘s Asparagus and Fennel Salad from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special, which is such a great book.

It has been tweeked by Laura and Catherine who have made it an awful lot.

Prepare your Ingredients

Roasted vegetables:

1 fresh fennel bulb - cored and thinly sliced

1 pound asparagus – stemmed

1 cup stemmed & blanched fiddleheads

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

Additions:

8 ounces penne 

 Dressing:

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 large cloves minced or pressed roasted garlic

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives blossom and all, garlic scapes, whatever is growing in the garden)

Heat your grill to 400. Place the fennel, blanched fiddleheads, asparagus, cherry tomatoes and garlic in the grill basket, drizzle with the

olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to evenly coat. Grill for about 30

minutes, stirring about every 7 minutes. The vegetables should still be brightly coloured and slightly crisp. 

 

While the vegetables are roasting, whisk all of the dressing ingredients (except the garlic which is still roasting) and then cook your pasta al dente.

Drain your pasta and combine with your roasted veggies, add it to the

bowl, pour on the dressing (which now has the garlic added), and toss well.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Some great optional additions:

Pitted Kalamata olives

Sundried tomatoes

Feta cheese