Fennel arugula salad with pistachio butter combines crispy, crunchy, and creamy in a perfectly balanced salad. Delicious, vegan, and ready in under 30 minutes.
I’m back from hiatus after moving just in time for the scorching Texas summer that makes turning on the oven or stove unbearable. Get ready for all the no (or minimal) heat recipes for the next few months.
This salad is the perfect recipe to kick off the summer. For me there are few outstanding salads out there and a ton of mediocre or bad salads. This salad is exceptional. The combination of flavors and textures play so well together. It was inspired by a salad I had at Cipollina in Austin with arugula, shaved fennel, parmesan cheese, and a lemon vinaigrette. The pistachio butter idea came from the Sambal Almond Butter Salad of Justin Doiron (aka Justine Snacks). My favorite food account at the moment. Together these ideas created this beautiful salad I’m sharing today!
FENNEL ARUGULA SALAD:
For the pistachio butter, I use a similar combination to my Pistachio Pesto Pasta. A bunch of pistachios, herbs, salt, and olive oil. It’s blitzed in the food processor until creamy. Add a little water as you go until it’s your perfect creamy consistency.
For the lemon vinaigrette, I used an adaptation of Love and Lemon’s Lemon Vinaigrette recipe which is just the perfect, simple dressing. I lean a little heavier on the lemon juice and lighter on the olive oil since the pistachio butter brings so much richness to the dish already.
The salad is simply arugula, thinly shaved fennel bulb, and chopped fennel fronds. I recommend you (safely) use a mandoline to slice the fennel bulb thinly but you can also carefully slice it thin using a knife if mandoline’s scare you a bit or you don’t have one at home. Don’t waste the fennel fronds! They are tasty and add another nice texture to the greens. Chop them up and throw them into the greens.
To serve the salad, combine the arugula, shaved fennel, fennel fronds, and chopped pistachios. Toss with lemon vinaigrette and little salt. Serve with a smear of the pistachio butter on the plate or bowl and the salad on top. Top with more chopped pistachios. Serve and enjoy the textural dream team – creamy pistachio butter, fresh crispy greens and fennel, and crunchy pistachios.
Fennel Arugula Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fennel arugula salad with pistachio butter combines crispy, crunchy, and creamy in a perfectly balanced salad. Delicious, vegan, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Salad:
- 5 oz arugula
- 1 bulb of fennel, sliced thin
- Fronds of fennel, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped
- Pistachio butter (see below)
- Lemon vinaigrette (see below)
Pistachio butter:
- 3/4 cup roasted and salted pistachios
- 1 large handful parsley
- 1/4 olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Lemon vinaigrette:
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Remove the stalk with fronds from the fennel bulb. Using a mandoline or a knife, carefully shave or cut the fennel bulb into thin slices. Remove large stalk pieces and chop the fennel fronds (the stuff that looks like dill!). Combine sliced fennel bulb, fennel fronds, and arugula in a large bowl.
- Combine all the pistachio butter ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to add a little more water to reach your desired consistency.
- Combine the lemon vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.
- Drizzle the arugula and fennel with the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Sprinkle in the chopped pistachios and toss again.
- Serve the salad with a smear of the pistachio butter on the plate and the salad served on top. Top with chopped pistachios and serve!
- Prep Time: 15
- Category: Salads
Keywords: fennel arugula salad, arugula salad, fennel salad, pistachio butter
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