Fennel and Celery Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

Michelle, the kitchen facilitator of the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors tries to introduce new ingredients in the kitchen. We often shop for familiar ingredients and seldom attempt to try ingredients that we never use before.

For this recipe, Michelle brought in fennel bulbs from her garden. The Fennel and Celery Salad with Pumpkin Seeds is crunchy and refreshing. The fennel has a mild licorice flavour.

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This recipe is best prepared with a mandoline to thinly slice the vegetables. But, if you do not have a mandoline, do not let that be an excuse. Just slice as thin as you can.

Ingredients

  • 3 celery stalks, slice in an angle into paper-thin slices
  • 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, halved vertically, slice paper=thin
  • 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup toasted salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shavings (about 1 1/2 ounces)

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Source: Epicurious.com

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Making Pizza from Scratch: Sausage, Fennel and Olive Pizza (Part 5 of 5)

Out of the four pizzas that the seniors made in the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors, I like this most. Perhaps, it’s the cooked sausage and sauteed onions and fennels which gives this pizza a lot of flavours. Joyce, Karen and Sydney worked together to make make this pizza.

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Although I’m not a fan of olives, I find that the taste of these black olives is quite mild. I love the sweetness from the sauteed fennel and onion and a hint of spiciness from the Italian sausages. This Sausage, Fennel and Olive Pizza gets the thumbs up from me.

Ingredients

  • 2 Italian sausages
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pizza dough
  • 1/2 cup pizza sauce
  • 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

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