When travelling in Peru several years ago I was intrigued by the Peruvian national dish of lemon and salt marinated seafood, basically left to dry and cure in the sun. One of the first fellow travellers I met told me how he had spent five days in hospital after sampling this delight. So I was never brave enough to try it. However the idea of a fresh tangy marinade works brilliantly with very finely shaved fennel. With a lovely hass avocado at the height of its season this is a marriage made in heaven.
Serves: 4 – 6 as an accompaniment
Equipment Needed: Very sharp knife (as the success of this dish, is getting the fennel to be very fine) and a good peeler
Ingredients
- 1 Large Bulb of Fennel (400g)
- 1 Medium Organic Carrot
- 2 Spring Onions
- Juice of ½ a Lemon
- 1tbsp Maple Syrup
- ½ a level tsp of good quality flaked sea salt
- 1 Clove Garlic (very finely diced)
Method
For the fennel, remove the top stalks, and slice above the root base so that the fennel segments come apart easily. These can then be sliced into very fine strips. Peel the carrot, then peel down length ways and slice very finely in a similar way to the fennel.
Top and tail the spring onion and slice in two length ways. Then using a knife carefully slice to the same size as the fennel and carrot. Place all three finely sliced vegetables in a bowl and thoroughly mix in all the other ingredients.
Leave to marinate at room temperate for 1 hour before serving. This is delicious with hass avocado, toasted almonds and lemon and thyme dressing.
