Tossing the fennel and carrot into the cold water helps to crisp them up. If you cannot shave the summer squash really thin, a little salt will help tenderize the squash so it won’t break. Using a Ben-Riner or mandolin is best for this recipe. When shaving the carrots and squash, shave it super fine, but you want to have complete slices, not raggedy looking partial slices.
INGREDIENTS:
3 Chantenay carrots, cleaned and squared off lengthwise 1-2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks removed and cleaned 2-3 medium summer squash, different colors are best ends removed and cleaned 6-8 scallions, white and palest green part only, trimmed and cleaned 6 cups romaine hearts, cleaned and cut into bite-sized bits 3-4 tablespoons capers, rinsed and blotted dry* Olive oil as needed Salt and pepper 1 cup Fennel Tapenade dressing, or as needed (see recipe)METHOD:
Fill a 2 quart bowl with ice and water.
Use a mandolin or very sharp knife to slice the fennel cross-wise into super thin slices. Drop into the ice water.
Cut the carrot rectangles into 2-3 inch “logs”. Use a mandolin or sturdy peeler, or knife, to shave super thin slices of carrot. Once this is done, remove the fennel from the ice water and transfer to a colander to drain. Then move the fennel to a towel and dry, and drop the carrot into the ice water. Add more ice if needed.
Cut the summer squash the same length as the carrots, then shave it super thinly also. Very lightly coat the squash with oil. This is best done with a sprayer. If the squash is not thin enough to flex without breaking, lightly salt all over and allow to sits 5-10 minutes, until it is flexible, then rinse well and dry on a towel, then oil.
Remove the carrots to a towel to dry and very finely sliced the scallions on a 2 inch diagonal. Drop into the ice water. Add ice if needed to make the water very cold. Chill scallions for 10 minutes, then drain and dry on a towel or paper towels.
Put lettuce into a large bowl and lightly coat with dressing. Place on four plates.
Put the fennel, carrots, squash, and scallions into the bowl and drizzle with just enough dressing to coat and toss to mix ingredients and evenly dress them. Distribute amongst the plates.
Scatter the capers over the salad and lightly season with salt and then pepper the salads.
Serve at once.
Chef’s Notes:
*For an interesting crunch and a little extra flavor punch you could fry the capers until crisp, and then scatter them over. You could also use a Creamy Blueberry vinaigrette (see site), Caesar dressing (see site), or A Lighter, Simple Blue Cheese dressing (see site). If you go with Creamy Blueberry vinaigrette, add a handful of blueberries to the lettuce before dressing.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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