Sorry I haven’t posted for a while. It was my wedding anniversary so we have been away in Dorset. It was our 2nd anniversary which is cotton. Paulie got me an engraved cotton cushion with our anniversary date. I got Paulie some cotton cufflinks. We had a really nice foodie weekend we went to river cottage and rick steins restaurant so this week it’s back to normal starting with meatless Monday salad. I love the flavour of fennel and I think it is even better if you caramelise it. The orange goes so well and the cannellini beans really bump it up. This was a tasty healthy salad. A great way to start the week.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the salad

• 1 small fennel bulb, outer leaves removed cut into eighth’s
• 1 orange, peeled and segmented
• 1 can cannellini beans
• handful of raisin’s
• the fennel prongs off the fennel
• 8 walnut’s, broken in half
• 6 large olives, sliced
• 2 handfuls of rocket leaves
• drizzle of olive oi for frying

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp molasses or honey
• pinch of sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan. Add the cut fennel pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned on both sides.
2. In a bowl add all of the salad ingredients except for the cooked fennel and toss to combine.
3. Make the dressing by adding all the ingredients into a bowl or jar, shake or whisk to combine, set aside.
4. To serve, share the salad ingredients between 2 serving dishes or lunch boxes. Add the caramelised fennel pieces, drizzle over the dressing. Enjoy.