Gordon Ramsay’s fennel salad is crisp, paper-thin shaved fennel with ripe Comice pear, wild rocket and watercress in a honey mustard vinaigrette, ready in 25 minutes including the ice water soak. It costs roughly £1 per serving and works best as a starter before rich mains like duck, game or pork.
In Sunday Lunch, Ramsay calls this “a truly refreshing salad with added crunch from the fennel, a peppery kick from the rocket and watercress, and sweetness from the pears.” The key step is soaking the sliced fennel in iced water for 15 to 20 minutes to hydrate the cells and crisp them up.
A mandolin is not optional here. You need fennel thinner than 1mm for the texture to work. A knife gives 2 to 3mm at best, which taste of raw aniseed rather than the clean, celery-like crunch you want. No mandolin? Use the slicer on a food processor.
Gordon Ramsay Fennel Salad
Course: Salads, Starters4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch: paper-thin shaved fennel soaked in ice water until crisp, tossed with ripe Comice pear, wild rocket and watercress in a honey mustard vinaigrette with wholegrain and Dijon mustard. Around £1 per serving.
Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed
1 large ripe Comice pear
125g (4½ oz) watercress, stems removed
100g (3½ oz) wild rocket leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the honey mustard vinaigrette:
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Shave and soak the fennel: Cut the fennel into very thin slices using a mandolin. Plunge the slices into a bowl of iced water and leave for 15 to 20 minutes to crisp up.
- Make the vinaigrette: Combine the wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice and olive oil in a jar with a lid. Shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble and serve: Drain the fennel and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Place in a large bowl. Quarter, core and thinly slice the pear, then add to the bowl with the watercress and rocket. Drizzle over the vinaigrette, toss to combine and serve immediately.
FAQs
Why soak the fennel in ice water?
Ice water hydrates the fennel cells, making them rigid and crunchy rather than limp and rubbery. It is the same principle as soaking chips in cold water before frying. Ramsay specifies 15 to 20 minutes, which is enough time for the slices to firm up without losing flavour. Skip this step and the fennel tastes flat and bendy.
Is this a starter or a side dish?
Ramsay treats it as a starter. He writes that it is “a good choice to precede a curry” and “ideal before rich meats like duck, game or pork.” The light, peppery leaves and crisp fennel clean the palate before something heavy. If you want it as a side, it pairs well with chicken pie or any curry from the site.
Does Ramsay have a second fennel salad?
In Ultimate Fit Food he makes a Courgette and Fennel Carpaccio: wafer-thin fennel and courgette ribbons with pomegranate seeds, mint and black sesame seeds. No pear, no mustard dressing, just lemon and olive oil. It is lighter and more minimalist at only 106 calories per serving compared to this richer honey mustard version.
Can you use a different pear?
Ramsay specifies Comice because it is the sweetest, softest British pear. Conference pears are cheaper and available year-round at every supermarket but are firmer and less sweet, so slice them thinner. A Granny Smith apple works if pears are out of season, though it adds tartness instead of sweetness and changes the balance of the salad.
Do you need a mandolin?
For this recipe, yes. The fennel must be under 1mm thick for the texture to work. Thick slices taste of raw aniseed and do not absorb the dressing. A mandolin costs £10 to £15 and is worth it for any recipe that calls for shaved vegetables. Always use the finger guard: fennel is hard and your hand gets close to the blade fast.
Does fennel salad keep well?
No. The pear browns within 30 minutes of being sliced, the rocket wilts once dressed, and the fennel loses its crunch. This is a make-and-serve salad. If you need to prep ahead, shave the fennel and keep it in the ice water, make the vinaigrette, and leave the pear and leaves untouched until the last five minutes. For more side salads from his cookbooks, browse the guide.
