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.

Fettuccine With Fennel, Saffron Threads, Walnuts And Cream

2 medium fennel bulbs (or one large)
1/4 cup minced scallion (white and green)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/8 teaspoon loosely packed saffron thread (about 15 threads)
1 pound fresh fettuccine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup minced parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet or pie pan and toast until fragrant and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool, then chop fine and set aside.

Cut off the stalks of the fennel bulb(s),if attached. Finely mince and set aside. Try to include some of the feathery leaves.

Dice the scallions.

Melt the butter in a skillet overly moderately low heat. Add the diced fennel and scallions and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat with the seasonings.

Add the chicken stock and saffron threads, bring to a simmer and cover. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and much of the liquid has evaporated, about ten minutes.

Stir in the cream. Bring back to a simmer and cook briefly to incorporate. Take care not to reduce the sauce too much as fresh pasta absorbs a lot of the sauce.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm over low heat.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add contents of the skillet and mix. Serve immediate on warm dishes, topping each with a reserve of a few chopped fennel leaves, if available.

Serves 4.

NOTES: * This recipe comes from a book called Pasta Harvest by Janet Fletcher. The book is all vegetable pasta dishes, with the dishes listed alphabetically by vegetable, starting with artichokes and ending with tomatoes. There are separate sections on pasta shapes, how to make pasta and creating sauces.

* I only eat this dish in the winter. Why? I dunno. I guess I think of fennel and heavy pastas as "winter."

* I know I should photograph food in natural light, but I didn't want to wait until tomorrow and wade out through snow to get to my garden table. I also forgot to mix the sauce with the pasta so it's sitting there like vom on top of the pasta. But it was good tasting vom.

* I went to reach for my saffron threads and "oops." I didn't have any. I did have a package of Spanish yellow rice, so I tapped into that to get some saffron flavoring. It really needs the saffron, though. Guess what got added to my "to buy" list?

* I usually cut this recipe in half. I could even see eating it over rice.

* I don't go to the trouble to roast the walnuts in the oven. At best, I may toss them around in a smaller fry pan for a few minutes.

* You can vary that butter-oil ratio. The recipe does need butter. It does not need oil. I only used butter tonight.

* I use a bit more of the feathery leaves than the recipe calls for, simply because I like the look of them.

* I never use heavy cream. You can use half and half, probably even whole milk. I would not make it using skim milk.