Almost Italian

Italian immigrants popularized many vegetables in their new country, and after weeks of holiday feasting, I thank my forebears for planting fennel in America. Broccoli and zucchini may be better known than the white and green “Florence fennel,” but generations of Italian-Americans know that the refreshing crunch and licorice flavor of finocchio is the perfect foil to the cheeses and meats of a rich meal.

Photograph © 2009, Skip Lombardi

During the holiday season, when my grandfather, uncles, and I were likely to get underfoot in the kitchen, my grandmother used to serve this salad in self-defense.

She would put together a big platter of sliced fennel dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Then, adding a handful of sliced mushrooms and a few shavings of Parmesan cheese, she’d march us all back into the living room to snack and watch whatever “big game” was on TV. Call my response Pavlovian, but even now, I get the urge for finocchio whenever I hear Frank Deford wax eloquent or indignant about college bowl games.

While some Italian-American restaurants serve fennel as part of the antipasto platter, these days diners are more apt to encounter fresh fennel in uptown compositions that involve oranges, pears, and nuts. Meanwhile, the casalinga treatment continues to be a salad like Insalata di Finocchio, Funghi e Parmigiano.

Ingredients:

1 Large fennel bulb
4 – 6 Large button mushrooms
Block of Parmigiano (See Notes)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Salt & freshly-ground black pepper

Preparation:

Remove the stalks at the top of the fennel bulb.* Carefully pare away any discolored portions of the bulb. Cut the bulb vertically into thin slices.

Arrange the slices on a platter without too much overlap, then drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze the juice of one half of the lemon onto the fennel. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

Slice the mushrooms—again, as thinly as possible—and arrange the slices on the fennel. Drizzle again with olive oil, the juice from the other lemon half, and season again with salt and pepper. Be careful with the salt, though, as the Parmesan will also add saltiness.

Finally, use a vegetable peeler to shave curls of Parmesan over the mushrooms. If you can keep everyone away from the salad, let it sit for up to a half hour at room temperature before serving. (Don’t let this salad sit for more than a half hour, though. The lemon juice will “cook” the fennel and you’ll lose its crisp texture.)

Serve garnished with some of the fennel fronds.