Chioggia & Roasted Fennel Salad with Pecan Whipped Ricotta

This colorful cooked and raw salad is a bridge between warm and cooler weather. It marries sweet and juicy roasted fennel with bright, crunchy shaved raw beets. Pecan-infused ricotta is the perfect foil to all. This makes a great vegetarian main course, or an appetizer to share.

Chioggia & Roasted Fennel Salad with Pecan Whipped Ricotta

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 small-to-medium Chioggia beets, skins peeled, sliced very thinly on a mandoline

• 1 small fennel bulb, root end trimmed and sliced into bite-sized wedges

• 2 tbsp plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• 1/3 cup pecans

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

• Kosher salt + freshly cracked black pepper

• Flake salt, for sprinkling

FOR THE RICOTTA

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta

• 2 tbsp pecan oil

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• Generous Grinds of freshly cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°. 

2. Use a fork or small whisk to whip ricotta, s+p, and pecan oil in a medium bowl until uniform and creamy.

3. Toss fennel in 1 tablespoon olive oil on a sheet pan and season with salt. Roast for 35 minutes or until softened and golden, turning halfway through, drizzling with more oil as needed. Once done, set aside on a wire rack to cool. 

4. While fennel roasts, toast pecans on a small tray until fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow nuts to cool completely. When room temperature, place pecans on a work surface and lean on them with a small heavy pan, crushing them into bite-sized bits. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

5. In another small bowl, whisk vinegar and remaining tablespoon of evoo, a pinch of salt, and freshly cracked pepper. 

6. On a serving platter, make a foundation layer of a few small spoonfuls of ricotta, followed by layers of beets and a scatter of parsley. Spoon the remainder of ricotta into the center and nestle fennel wedges around it. Add remaining parsley and sprinkle everything with pecans. Add the dressing and cracked black pepper and flake salt to taste. Best eaten dragging the veg through the ricotta in hearty forkfuls.