Pickled fennel, mushroom and rocket salad

Summer

Fennel is superb eaten raw, it has a clean, sugary, uplifting flavour as well as a pleasant, snappy bite. When the pale green bulbs get bigger, they can be a little fibrous, so I find it’s best to cook them somehow – they roast incredibly well. Raw fennel and raw mushrooms might seem an unlikely pairing, but they have a harmony that goes beyond the obvious. Perhaps it’s something more subterranean that holds them together; ties from their connections in the earth.

Serves 2

Ingredients

75ml (2¼fl oz) cider vinegar
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
2–3 tarragon sprigs, leaves picked
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
2 tsp unrefined caster sugar
1 large fennel bulb
8 chestnut mushrooms, stalks removed and cut into 2–3mm (1⁄16–1⁄8in) slices
2 handfuls of rocket
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Warm the vinegar in a small pan set over a medium heat with the coriander seeds, tarragon, shallot and sugar, then season with salt and pepper. When the mixture starts to simmer, remove the pan from the heat and leave the pickling liquid to infuse and cool.

Split the fennel from top to bottom, remove the core, then slice each half very thinly across the bulb. (Use a mandoline if you have one, to make the job easier.) Transfer the slices to a bowl and add the mushrooms. Pour the pickling liquid, including its aromatics, over the vegetables and use your hands to tumble everything about. Leave to stand for 30 minutes or so.

Add the rocket leaves to the bowl and trickle over the olive oil. Tumble everything together again, then transfer the mixture to a salad bowl, or divide it between two large plates, to serve.

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