Shrimp Salad With Fennel And Radishes

 Ingredients:

1 small bulb fennel
1-1/2 pounds shrimp, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup minced dill
4 radishes, trimmed and shaved
Bibb or Boston lettuce

Sauce:

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste


 Steps:

If using fresh shrimp, shell and de-vein and cook (or use frozen shrimp and thaw), drying the shrimp before making salad.  Shave a small fennel bulb. Shave four radishes after trimming.

 Mix together sauce of mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper.

Gently mix both shrimp and dressing together and serve on Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves, or on toast or a croissant.

Notes:

*  I used a good count sized frozen shrimp which I ran under hot water and removed tails, then patted dry and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

*  I used even less than a small bulb of fennel, because I didn't know how my guests felt about raw fennel, and I looked on it as a celery substitute.  Any leftover fennel I have, I will use to make a braised fennel with roasted walnuts and saffron over fettuccine dish I have in my repertoire and is posted on this blog. While I did use a Mandoline to shave the radishes, I diced the fennel in very small pieces like celery, not sure if my guests would want to bite down on a large, shaved piece of fennel.

* I thought the dill would be overwhelming (I used fresh).  It was not.

* I followed the sauce, to the letter.  I might use less mayonnaise if I make this again.

When I served this, some ate it as a salad over chopped lettuce.  Some had theirs on a croissant with lettuce on the sandwich.  It would also be nice as a part of a cold plate.