favorite fennel salad

I got a nice fennel in my vegetable box and decided to make my old favorite, fennel-grapefruit salad. Here’s the recipe:

1 medium fennel
2 grapefruits
A pinch apiece (to taste) of cumin, Aleppo pepper, and salt
Olive oil, a couple of tablespoons

Slice the fennel nice and thin. I used a mandoline, but that’s a little tricky and scary so be careful if you do it that way. Let the slices rest in a bowl of cold water with a couple of ice cubes added—this transforms them from leathery to crisp.

Meanwhile, supreme the grapefruit and add it to your salad bowl. Squeeze the juice from the membranes into the bowl before eating or discarding them.

Toast the cumin. I used Wild Mountain Cumin, which is both very aromatic and very small, so it doesn’t really need to be ground after toasting. If you use regular cumin, crush it lightly before adding it to the grapefruit along with the chile and salt.

Drain the fennel and give a spin in your salad spinner, then add it to the grapefruit and stir it up.

That’s it!