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François Perret's fennel salad

This imaginative and unusual salad from The Chef in a Truck by François Perret marries together the anise of fennel with the sweetness of orange marmalade and dates.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Fennel Salad, French salad
Author: François Perret

Equipment

  • Food processor or blender
  • Mandoline

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

  • Scant ½ cup 100 ml olive oil
  • 3 tbsp 40 ml calamansi vinegar (or another lemon vinegar)
  • 3 tbsp 40 ml Pacific (alcohol-free pastis)
  • 5 tbsp 40 g confectioners’ sugar

Oat milk rice pudding

  • 1 tbsp 10 g cornstarch
  • 1 oz 30 g light brown sugar
  • Scant ¾ cup 5½ oz/150 g risotto rice
  • 4 cups 1l oat milk
  • Orange marmalade optional
  • 1 lb 500 g oranges
  • 1 1 ⁄3 cups 9 oz/250 g superfine sugar
  • 1 tsp 4 g fruit pectin (optional, but it gives a better set)

Salad

  • 2 fennel bulbs
  • A little lemon juice
  • 1 lb 500 g lemon sorbet
  • 10 pitted dates thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2 large oranges peeled and segmented
  • 20 Taggiasca olives optional
  • 1 bunch fresh dill
  • Borage flowers
  • Fleur de sel sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

To prepare the vinaigrette

  • Whisk all the ingredients together until evenly combined. Set aside.

To prepare the oat milk rice pudding

  • Mix the cornstarch and sugar together. Blanch the rice in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under running cold water.
  • While the rice is blanching, heat the oat a simmer. Add the rice and simmer gently over low heat until the rice is tender (about 15 minutes). Stir in the mixture of cornstarch and sugar, then bring briefly to a boil. The rice should be very creamy.

To prepare the orange marmalade

  • Prick the oranges all over with a fork.
  • Place them in a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them and bring to a boil. Drain and repeat 8 times, using fresh water each time.
  • Cut the oranges into quarters, remove the seeds, and purée in a food processor or blender. Transfer the purée to a saucepan, add the sugar and pectin (if using), and cook for 2 minutes. Let cool.

To assemble

  • Slice the fennel bulbs very thinly with a mandoline and toss in the lemon juice to stop the slices from oxidising.
  • Place a teaspoon of orange marmalade (no more, as it is very sweet) in each serving dish. Add the rice pudding, a scoop of lemon sorbet, and a few date slices (if using).
  • Divide the fennel slices between the serving dishes, along with the orange segments. Drizzle over the vinaigrette and season.
  • Serve garnished with a few olives (if using), dill sprigs, and borage flowers.