Thomas Keller's Fig Salad with Roasted Peppers and Fennel

Fig & roasted peppers

Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
French
Serves
6
Time
45 minutes
From
Thomas Keller

fennelfigpeppers

This is from Keller's book, The French Laundry.

In an attempt to make this accessible to the home chef, this is a (sort of) simplified version of the recipe. TK's versions are usually pretty elaborate (to say the least).

I'm usually not a huge fan of fennel, but it works here

Ingredients

Figs

  • 6 Large Black Figs
  • Extra virgin oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp finely minced shallots

Roasted Peppers

  • 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, roasted peeled and cut into 1/4-inch julienne
  • 2 tbsp minced shallots
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Kosher salt

Fennel Salad

  • 1 small fennel bulb, shaved
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • kosher salt

Accents

  • 1/4 cup Fennel Oil
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Glaze
  • Fennel Powder
  • Fennel fronds

Instructions

Prep

  1. Make the fennel oil using a quick blanch of fennel pods/leaves and parsley leaves, chill in an ice bath, dry, blend with oil, and slowly drain through a cheese cloth or fine sieve. I prefer a neutral oil (e.g. avocado) but use olive oil if you like the taste (it can be a little bitter)
  2. Roast the peppers, remove skin & seeds and cut into julienne
  3. Put the peppers in a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and finely minced shallots. Put aside for an hour
  4. Slice the figs into quarter-inch rounds (discard top & bottom), place them on a plate and drizzled them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and finely minced shallots. Leave to marinate for about an hour
  5. Take the small bulb of fennel, trim off the ends, level the bottom, and slice it very thinly on a mandoline. Put the slices in a bowl and tossed them with -- you guessed it -- olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt! No shallots though. Do not marinate for an hour though, do this just before assembling and serving.

Assembly

  1. Place a tall circular ring mould (probably 3-4" wide) in the middle of the plate (optional, you can just stack the ingredients)
  2. Add some fig slices and arrange in a circle
  3. Top with some roasted peppers
  4. Top with 1 or more fig slice(s)
  5. Top with saved fennel
  6. Drizzle fennel oil around the outside of the place
  7. Place drops of balsamic glaze on the fennel oil. Or, just drizzle it around the plate near the fennel oil
  8. Sprinkle with a little fennel powder (do not use a lot)
  9. Top with some fennel fronds for decoration
  10. If you have enough moulds/rings, leave them on until serving

Notes

  • Trader Joe's sells balsamic drizzle, which will work. Otherwise, reduce 3-4 tbsp of balsamic figure down to 1 tbsp
  • To save some effort, mix oil/vinegar/salt and use for the fennel, peppers and figs - but dress them separately
  • You can also just use a jar of roasted peppers
  • Fennel powder is made by toasting some fennel seeds and grinding them with a pestle & mortar. You don't need much!
  • The real recipe uses just 2 slices of fig, one on the bottom and one between the peppers and fennel. However, if you're going to the trouble of making this, throw in a few more slices per portion!