fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds with sumac

This week’s Weekend Herb Blogging event is being host by Srivalli from the wonderful blog Cooking 4 all Seasons. Kalyn from Kalyn’s kitchen is the creator of this lovely event that has been taking place every week for the last two years. Every week it is hosted by a different blog host.

I bought the Ottolenghi cookbook for the cakes recipes. Having been to their stores many times I just dreamt of being able to recreate some of their creation. Funny enough I have used a lot of their salad recipes quite intensively. In fact I have barely baked any of its cakes. I hear that Kalyn has purchased it as well and I really hope that she I enjoying it.
One of the things that drive me to choosing this or that recipe to take part in the weekly Weekend herb Blogging is trying to add something new and exiting to this event. Kalyn is always preparing amazing salads in her blog and I feel that I ought to keep the game up.

This salad is so refreshing and crunchy. As I have already mentioned here, crunchiness in a salad is something that I cannot resist. The original recipe had salt in it but I chose not to use because of the feta cheese.
Tarragon which is used here, is a herb full of medicinal properties. The ancient greeks chewed it to treat tooth infection I have read.Why you might ask, because it numbs the mouth. It is also known to being a very good digestive. Fennel which is the main actor, is full of so many great properties: vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, folate..Not only is this salad delicious as it delivers a handful of healthy benefits in very mouthful. I had mine with some smoked trout. And it worked a treat.

Ingredients:

½ pomegranate
2 medium fennel heads
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon sumac
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons tarragon leaves
2 tablespoon roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
70g greek feta cheese pieces
Sal and black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1.Start by releasing the pomegranate seeds. Some people swear by the wooden spoon treatment: Place half of the pomegranate on one hand, cut side facing down. Hit it with the back of the spoon and you will see the seeds start falling on your hand
2. Remove the leaves of the fennel, keeping a few to garnish and the rest for future use. Trim the base of the fennels, and slice it very thinly lengthwise – I chose not to. Put the olive oil, black pepper, sumac, lemon juice and herbs in a bowl and mix. Throw the fennel slices in the bowl and toss well. I chose not to add salt because the feta cheese has enough salt on it.
3. When ready to serve, place the fennel on the serving dish first, followed by the feta cheese and pomegranate seeds. Garnish with the dill leaves and sprinkle some sumac if you like