I Introduce To You...

Everyone has some variation of this salad. Whether it is with celery, fennel, mushrooms, pear, apple, parsley, onions, or all of the above, it is near impossible to mess up.

I first discovered what I call "my version" in Laura Calder's French Taste: Elegant Everyday Eating. French Taste is my favourite, favourite, favourite cookbook of all time (do you think I made that clear enough) and I can't believe I'm only getting around to telling you about it now.

I see this book all over town in discount boxes, and I cannot understand for the life of me why its popularity is not more well-spread.
It is a beautiful, helpful, and reliable little thing, and I trust it with all my heart. It has essays on how to shop, eat, and cook (which might seem a bit redundant for someone who has just bought a French food cookbook, but nevertheless, they are still super informative). There is an essay on pastry, which, for me, was revolutionary.
Frankly, I wish it were my own.
The recipes, for the most part, are easy to whip up, and very sophisticated, which I feel a little pompous saying (sophisticated food? I should not quit my day job....if I had one), but it's true. So there. Endorsement over. Let me know if I convinced you.
I recently discovered that Ms. Calder lives in Toronto. Now, I'm not one to care about celebrity spotting's, but I would give up my precious little Fennel and Mushroom salad for a year to meet her... which is saying a lot since I cannot so much as hear the word fennel without feeling an intense urge to out and purchase one, all for the purpose of ending up in this little delight:

What sets this fennel salad apart from the rest is the minced shallot that macerates in white wine vinegar. That vinegar, though drained before being added to the salad, adds a big punch. Get a bite with too shallot and hello 'I just sucked on a lemon' face. But well distributed shallot = heavenly delight.

Laura Calder's Fennel and Mushroom Salad


1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 fennel bulb
1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
leaves from a large bouquet of parsley
a handful of chopped chives (though I do normally skip this part)
olive oil
salt and pepper
lemon juice
parmesan (optional)

Put the shallot and vinegar in a ramekin. Set aside.
Cut stalks off the fennel bulb and peel any discoloured parts off bulb. Cut bulb in half, lengthways, and slice very thinly. Add to bowl. Add in the mushrooms and parsley leaves. Drain the shallot, discarding the vinegar, and add to bowl with the chives. Dress with oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and parmesan.

I often leave out the mushrooms, or parsley and add is celery. Sometimes I even add chickpeas. But I always add the macerated shallot.