Fennel, Radish and Butter Lettuce Salad with Zesty Chive Dressing

From the appearance of this here blog… I’ve been pretty lazy lately.

And I will admit, I was pretty lazy in the last week and half. 

Wes and I went on a much-needed little Hawaiian vacay to the north shore of Oahu. 

This was after my five-day work trip to Vegas. Which was right after my eight-day dork trip to New York.

So I’m not sure if I’ve been lazy as much as I’ve been exhausted.

When I’m not on the road, I should be writing about any of the tasty dishes in my pretty large backlog of things I’ve cooked lately. But more and more I’m finding myself with my new food love. The garden.

I turned over about fifty square feet of pretty crappy earth on the side of Wes’s place back in April and I have been working my developing green thumb on that little patch hoping for some yummy goodies to come out of it.

Naturally, there have been successes and failures. I seem to be able to get squash blossoms just fine, but no actual squash want to come my way. 

The basil is out of hand but my cilantro super sucked. 

Just like my early cooking days, it is trial by fire out in that little dirt patch but I’m as determined now as I was then. Maybe more so.

This dish features on of my favorite garden goodies and one of my most successful first crops. The radish. In my opinion, a highly underrated little root veggie that adds a ton of zest and flavor to anything it is served with.

You will need…

1 head butter lettuce (also known as Bibb or Boston) chopped into bite-sized pieces

8 radishes thinly sliced

1 cup croutons

1 bulb fennel, halved and light green part thinly sliced

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, radishes and fennel and set aside.

Then in a small bowl or jar, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, chives and honey and season well with salt and pepper. Whisk or shake till the dressing is completely combined.

Drizzle the dressing over the greens and top the salad with croutons.

Toss well and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Fennel, Radish and Butter Lettuce Salad with Zesty Chive Dressing

 1 head butter lettuce (also known as Bibb or Boston) chopped into bite-sized pieces

8 radishes thinly sliced

1 cup croutons

1 bulb fennel, halved and light green part thinly sliced

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, radishes and fennel and set aside.

Then in a small bowl or jar, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, chives and honey and season well with salt and pepper. Whisk or shake till the dressing is completely combined.

Drizzle the dressing over the greens and top the salad with croutons.

Toss well and serve.