Can you eat fennel raw in a salad?

Yes, and raw it actually tastes milder than cooked: crunchy, fresh and with a faint anise note that reminds you of celery. What matters is that you slice the bulb paper-thin and cut out the hard core in the middle. Chop the tender fennel fronds finely and scatter them over the salad like a herb.

How do I slice fennel thinly enough for salad?

Trim the bulb, cut off the stalks, halve it and remove the core in a wedge. Then shave it on a mandoline or vegetable slicer to 1 to 2 millimeters. Without a slicer, lay the half cut side down and slice as thinly as you can with a sharp knife. Thicker slices soften if they sit in the dressing for 10 minutes.

Which pear works in a fennel arugula salad?

A ripe but still firm pear such as Williams, Abate Fetel or Conference. It has to slice thinly without falling apart, overripe pears turn mushy in the salad. The skin stays on, the core comes out, and a few drops of lemon juice keep the slices pale.

How do I make this salad vegan?

Swap the honey in the dressing for maple syrup or agave syrup, and the feta for a plant-based feta or marinated, crumbled tofu. If you would rather leave the cheese out altogether, simply double the pistachios, then the salad still has enough bite and salt.

Can I prepare the fennel arugula salad ahead?

You can prepare the fennel, onion and dressing up to 1 day ahead and keep them separately in the fridge. The pear and arugula go in just before serving, the pistachios right at the end. A dressed salad keeps for a day, but the arugula wilts.

2 SEPTEMBER 2026

Fennel Arugula Salad with Pear and Feta

Name: Fennel Arugula Salad with Pear and Feta
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 large fennel bulb; 2 handfuls arugula; 1 ripe pear; 100 gr (3.5 oz.) feta; 1/2 red onion; 4 Tbsp olive oil; 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; 2 tsp honey; salt; pepper; 2 Tbsp salted pistachios

By Verena Frei

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Prep: 20 min
Total: 20 min
Servings: 4 servings

What can I cook tonight?Tap what you have at home and I will show you what fits.e.g. witharugulafennelpear

Hello lovelies,

raw fennel shaved paper-thin, with sweet pear, salty feta and toasted pistachios: my fennel arugula salad with pear and feta is the kind of salad that lands on our table when tomatoes and cucumbers are slowly over but it is not yet time for winter salads. A balsamic mustard dressing with a touch of honey holds it all together, nothing gets cooked, and in 20 minutes the platter is on the table.

Fennel arugula salad at an angle from above with gold salad servers on the blue platter

Raw fennel is milder than many people think, almost like celery with a faint anise note, and it gets along with sweet and salty equally well. If you know it with orange, for example from my kale salad with orange and fennel, you will recognize the pear here as the gentle autumn version of that idea.

Fennel and pear are a pair I keep bringing together anyway. Cooked and creamy we have them as a vegan fennel risotto with pears, raw and crunchy in this salad, and I honestly could not say which version I like more.

Close-up of pistachios, pear slices and feta on the fennel arugula salad

The only thing that really matters is that the fennel gets thin. With a mandoline that takes 2 minutes, with a sharp knife it takes a little patience, but thick slices taste woody. And if half a bulb is left over afterwards, it goes into my mushroom fennel risotto with smoked tofu the next day, so nothing is wasted.

Fennel arugula salad with pear and feta from above, close on the blue platter

As a side the salad serves 4, as a light main it serves 2. When it is meant to be a whole dinner, a bowl of my lentil salad with feta and mint dressing goes next to it here, and then even the big appetites are taken care of.

Fennel arugula salad with pear, feta and pistachios on the oval platter

Ingredients for the fennel arugula salad with fennel, arugula, pear, feta, red onion and pistachios

I hope you give raw fennel a chance if you have only ever had it cooked. And if you take to paper-thin vegetables with fruit, try my creamy kohlrabi salad with apple next, which is built on exactly the same principle.

Yours, Verena

TIPS

Verena's notes

Tip from my kitchen: the mandoline is the most important tool here, this salad stands or falls with thin fennel slices. If you toss the fennel with half the dressing 10 minutes before serving it turns more tender and soaks up the flavor, and the arugula then goes in just before you eat. The onion gets milder if you leave the rings in cold water for a moment. If you cannot find salted pistachios, toast unsalted ones in a pan for 2 minutes and salt them while they are still warm. In winter an orange cut into segments takes the place of the pear, and it becomes a different but just as good salad.

Fennel arugula salad with pear, feta and pistachios on a blue platter from above

Fennel Arugula Salad with Pear and Feta

Crunchy raw salad of paper-thin fennel, arugula, ripe pear, feta and salted pistachios with a balsamic mustard dressing.

Course:Salad
Prep:20 min
Servings:4 servings

Vegetarian

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EQUIPMENT

Mandoline or vegetable slicer
Sharp knife
Large salad bowl
Small bowl for the dressing
Whisk

INGREDIENTS

For the salad:

1large fennel bulb about 300 gr (10.5 oz.)
2handfulsarugula about 40 gr (1.4 oz.)
1ripe pear firm
100gr (3.5 oz.)feta
1/2red onion

For the dressing:

4Tbspolive oil
2Tbspbalsamic vinegar
2tspDijon mustard
2tsphoney
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Also:

2Tbspsalted pistachios roughly chopped

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INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare

Wash the fennel, remove the stalks and core and set the fronds aside. Shave the bulb paper-thin on the mandoline or slice it as thinly as possible with a sharp knife.
Wash and core the pear and slice it thinly as well.
Peel the red onion and cut it into fine rings or strips.
Crumble the feta and roughly chop the pistachios.

Dressing

Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey in the small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Assemble

Combine the arugula, fennel, pear, onion and feta in the large bowl.
Pour the dressing over and toss everything gently so the flavors spread.
Arrange on plates or a platter, scatter the chopped pistachios and fennel fronds over the top and serve straight away.

Calories: 290 kcal
Protein: 6 g

GOOD TO KNOW

Frequently asked questions

Yes, and raw it actually tastes milder than cooked: crunchy, fresh and with a faint anise note that reminds you of celery. What matters is that you slice the bulb paper-thin and cut out the hard core in the middle. Chop the tender fennel fronds finely and scatter them over the salad like a herb.
Trim the bulb, cut off the stalks, halve it and remove the core in a wedge. Then shave it on a mandoline or vegetable slicer to 1 to 2 millimeters. Without a slicer, lay the half cut side down and slice as thinly as you can with a sharp knife. Thicker slices soften if they sit in the dressing for 10 minutes.
A ripe but still firm pear such as Williams, Abate Fetel or Conference. It has to slice thinly without falling apart, overripe pears turn mushy in the salad. The skin stays on, the core comes out, and a few drops of lemon juice keep the slices pale.
Swap the honey in the dressing for maple syrup or agave syrup, and the feta for a plant-based feta or marinated, crumbled tofu. If you would rather leave the cheese out altogether, simply double the pistachios, then the salad still has enough bite and salt.
You can prepare the fennel, onion and dressing up to 1 day ahead and keep them separately in the fridge. The pear and arugula go in just before serving, the pistachios right at the end. A dressed salad keeps for a day, but the arugula wilts.

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Fennel Arugula Salad with Pear and Feta