Fennel and Brown Rice Salad

This fennel salad is so easy to throw together and would be a great idea to use up brown rice from the night before. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ALWAYS cooking too much rice. Can never get the quantity spot on, not that I’m complaining of course, or else I wouldn’t have come up with this tasty recipe! The fennel really gives a great, strong flavor to the dish, and compliments the surrounding flavors. With so many nutritional benefits, this is a pretty complete dish, and one that’ll tick all the boxes. Nutrition – Check! Flavor – Check! Quick & Easy – Check! If you’re a lover of fennel and all things licorice, you’ll love this interesting salad.

Fennel is so versatile, from roasting it, to throwing it into soups, it really can work in so many ways. Now I will be honest, I never really considered eating it raw before, never really knew that you could. I was inspired to play around with this interesting vegetable, from none other than Deliciously Ella. I watched her Fennel, Quinoa and Broad Bean Salad YouTube video and was instantly thinking of ways I could adapt her recipe to my own liking’s. 

I adore all things licorice, and since I follow a refined sugar free lifestyle, I am yet to find natural licorice that isn’t laden with sugars. Until I do, I settle my cravings with loads of fennel in the form of tea, fennel seeds and of course, fennel plant. 

Nature is amazing! Every single fruit and vegetable has some form of health benefits, and I just find this fascinating! And for fennel, well, it’s pretty damn amazing too:

For those who don’t know, fennel is a crunchy and slightly sweet vegetable that is quite popular in Mediterranean and Italian cooking. It’s made up of a big pale green/white bulb and long stalks (similar to celery) with tiny feathery thin leaves which flower and produce fennel seeds. It’s most popularly known for it’s distinct licorice flavor. The leaves are a great addition to herbal teas, and the seeds are most commonly added to curries and spicy dishes. Fennel belongs to the Umbellifereae family and is therefore closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander. Source

Source 

Fennel and Brown Rice Salad

2015-08-30 18:22:49

Serves 2

A crunchy salad that's bursting with nutrition and a whole lot of flavor. Quick and easy to make and a great option for left over rice.

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Ingredients

1. 1 Fennel Bulb
2. 1 Lime
3. 1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
4. 1 Red Bell Pepper
5. 1-2 Cups Baby Spinach
6. Handful Baby Tomatoes
7. Hummus (see recipe archives)
8. Brown Rice - left overs
9. 1 TBS Tahini
10. (Choose organic where possible)

Instructions

1. Take your fennel bulb and chop off the end, and just before the stalks begin. Keep your fennel leaves for garnish, or herbal tea.
2. Chop the bulb in half vertically, and rinse the thoroughly in a bowl of water and apple cider vinegar. If you're lucky enough to have organic, just a rinse under the tap will do.
3. Thinly dice up the bulb, and place into a large mixing bowl. Add the baby spinach, apple cider vinegar and juice of 1 lime. Mix through and allow to marinate for at least 30mins.
4. While that is marinating you can chop up your bell pepper, and baby tomatoes.
5. For this recipe I added a dollop of homemade hummus, and sneakily used left over brown rice for a meal the night before.
6. Once the salad has marinated, add the bell pepper and tomatoes, and serve on a plate adding your hummus, and a separate bowl of brown rice. Drizzle some tahini over the rice for an added calcium boost!
7. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

1. I used pre-made hummus, which the recipe can be found on the site.
2. I also used left over brown rice from a previous meal. Saves a lot of time 🙂

By Wellness with Taryn

Wellness with Taryn https://wellnesswithtaryn.com/