Fennel, apple & parma salad

My husband is sojourning in New York at the moment (however much he insists that he is there to work, I am still jealous - gone are the days when spouses, children and pets would be invited to travel with them to sweeten up their secondment to any given destination) and I find myself struggling to work up an appetite. This is not dissimilar to when I was studying for my A-levels (or equivalent) and lived on my own in my parents' farmhouse dating back to 1769 where the next shop was a 5 km walk uphill and there was only a wood-fired oven which I found incredibly hard to operate. After about 2 months of self-induced solitary confinement ended up weighing in at just 45kg... not that there's any danger of that right now (three kids later), but eating alone just isn't much fun, I find - I bet you agree.

But eat, I do. More often than not, it'll be a salad of sorts, with anything I can find in my slowly emptying fridge. Today, it spat out some parma ham, fennel and rocket (arugula), which I tossed up with a few slices of apple and a sprinkling of hazelnuts. And boy, despite it leaving nothing to wish for tastewise, I could have thought of nicer company than the latest issue of the Economist...

Fennel, apple & parma salad
(serves 2 as a lunch, 4 as a starter)

50 g rocket/arugula/rucola salad
1 juicy apple
1 medium fennel
6-8 slices parma ham
1 handful toasted hazelnuts

For the marinade:
1 tbsp runny honey
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper

Core and deseed the apple, cut into thin wedges. Core and trim the fennel, cut into fine slivers.
Mix the marinade, toss the salad, apple and fennel in it.
Arrange on plates with the parma ham draped over and a sprinkle of hazelnuts.
Serve with bread on the side.

Comments

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

That looks delish! Favorite flavors...I would really love those in combination.

[James]

Sounds yummy Johanna. Sorry to hear of your temporary single state, though. Chin up girl!

[Lynda]

I admire your inspiration while cooking for just yourself. The combination of arugula, fennel and prosciutto is just plain delicious, and the added ingredients, especially runny honey, make this salad sound divine.

[Margaret]

This salad ticks all the boxes for me.
Sadly, eating on your own is never the same as eating in company.

[cool_orangy]

Hey ! Your blog looks very impressive...its very injoyable and provided more fun..i would be come here again...

gaurvi
orangy food

[cool_orangy]

Hey ! Your blog looks very impressive..its very injoyable and provided more fun..i would be come here again...

gaurvi
orangy food

[Roswitha Graf]

Vielen Dank, ich habe dieses Rezept ausprobiert und es ist wirklich eine tolle Kombination. Fenchel-Orangensalat ist auch immer wieder gut, aber da hat der Fenchel ganz anders und besonders delikat geschmeckt.
LG Roswitha

[Deborah Dowd]

One word- YUM! Makes me want to eat a salad!!