Arugula & Fennel Salad

Late March hails in Spring in a magical way in Northern California where I live. The air suddenly smells sweetly of all the green things starting to sprout and bloom.  To my delight the variety of all the green things at the farmer’s markets begins to markedly increase as well. All the green spring beauty inspired me to make an all-green salad for a local Celiac potluck  held last weekend.

I have been experimenting with a no-citrus and no-vinegar diet lately with really positive results. Surprisingly, having ingredient limitations made the recipe creation process more simple and the results were delicious! Warning, the dressing does not keep well as there is nothing acidic to help preserve the all-natural ingredients. Make sure the dressing is covered tightly, refrigrerate, and enjoy the dressing within 48 hours after you make it.

Arugula & Fennel Salad with Pear Dressing

Dressing:

• 3 ripe pears of any variety, washed, peeled, and chopped into small pieces.
• 1/3 c olive oil
• 1 large bunch chives
• sea salt to taste
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/4c water (more if you wanter a runnier consistency)

Salad:

• 1 lb. organic arugula, washed and dried
• 1 large fennel bulb, white bulb part only, chopped into thin strips
• 1 bunch scallions (green onions), chopped fine

Method:

1. Prepare the dressing. I recommend you do this in a high-powered blender, like a vita-mix. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, make sure you use very ripe pears as it will be much easier for the blender to process. Pour olive oil into blender first, then add all other ingredients besides chives. Blend until smooth. Then add chives. Blend until smooth. Check taste and consistency. Put in a glass container with a tight cover and refrigerate while you prepare your salad.
2. Lay a bed of arugula on a large serving platter or in a salad bowl. Layer fennel on top, and then sprinkle scallions over the fennel.
3. Either toss salad with the dressing or to make the salad last for tomorrow, serve the dressing on the side as in the above picture. Garnish with fennel fronds.