Celery, Fennel & Radish Salad. This is a simple salad. You probably don’t even need a recipe for it. But this is a food blog. You expect recipes, right? So I have attached one.
You see I made this salad mostly as an excuse to try my hand at this Blue Cheese Dressing recipe I came across on Pain Perdu Blog. I think the measure of a really good cook is the desire and ability to make salad dressing from scratch. It’s a matter of details. A cook who bothers to make his own dressing shows how much he loves what he’s doing. In cooking as in life, love is best illustrated through small gestures.
I’ve been making a version of blue cheese dressing for quite a few years. It’s a simple and unscientific process. Just combine blue cheese with sour cream, a little garlic, lemon juice and a good grind each of salt and pepper. It takes just a few minutes. Many more flavors and textures can be layered in as well. But they’re not mandatory. Because if you start with good cheese you’re bound to get good results. Roquefort, a French blue cheese made from sheep’s milk is the standard-bearer, but other quality blues like Maytag or Stilton are good too. As long as the cheese is nice and strong, but not too sharp or astringent.
Just like the salad I’ve presented here, you don’t really need a recipe to make a good dressing. But recipes can be a great source of inspiration. So I’ve linked to one. My mom used to make a blue cheese dressing just as I’ve described in the previous paragraph. It was perfect every time. She served it on an iceberg wedge. Even as a kid I loved that salad. Kids don’t typically love blue cheese. I even know plenty of adults who scrunch their noses when any sort of stinky cheese comes their way. But not me. As a kid and as an adult I love blue cheese. GREG
Celery, Fennel & Radish Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing serves 6 CLICK here for a printable recipe
- 1 head of celery, tough outer stalks removed, well rinsed
- 1 fennel bulb, stalks and fronds removed
- 1 bn red radishes, tops removed and well washed
- 1/2 c blue cheese dressing (see below)
- 1 pn freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 c croutons
Thinly slice the celery, fennel and radishes; toss together. Arrange the salad onto a serving plate. Top with blue cheese dressingand garnish with croutons, if using.
Blue Cheese Dressing makes 20 servings
- 3/4 t minced garlic
- 1/4 t dry ground mustard
- 1/3 t onion powder
- 1/3 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 t freshly ground white pepper
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1/2 t worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 c sour cream
- 1/4 c buttermilk
- 1/3 lb crumbled blue cheese
- 2 T minced parsley or chives, as garnish (optional)
