Fennel and 'cheese' salad

Salads come to the fore in hot weather, helped along by the often overlooked fennel. Our favourite salad so far is an easy, phe-free number which I adapted from a blog:

Shaved fennel and PKU cheese salad

Serves two as a main or four people as a side salad. This is phe-free when made with a phe-free cheese. If you need to use some protein, measure in a cheese with protein or add pine nuts (7g of pine nuts = 1phe).

Ingredients

1 bulb of fennel
10 or so clean, fresh mushrooms
Small amount of phe-free cheese, either pre-grated or from a block. If you are using a cheese with protein don’t forget to measure the amount so you can calculate the exchanges. I used the Ocado grated cheddar alternative to keep this salad phe-free and easy.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of half a freshly squeezed lemon. For those of us without a fresh lemon on standby this is about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Method

1. Cut off the top stalks and rough bottom of the fennel bulb. Reserve any feathery fronds at the end of the stalks. Wash and dry the bulb. If any of the outside is bruised or browned, gently cut it off without hacking through the bulb.
2. Cut the bulb in half, and shave the fennel with a mandolin or thinly slice with a good knife. Put this fennel into a salad bowl.
3. Shave or thinly slice the clean, dry mushroom caps, and add them to the fennel.
4. Add in the lemon juice, olive oil and add salt and pepper. Add in your cheese, if using a block, grate it or use a vegetable peeler to imitate Parmesan.
5. Mix together and either leave for an hour at room temperature or serve straight away.

Optional: For garnish, sprinkle with the clean, dried feathery fennel fronds, or parsley or with measured pine nuts for extra exchanges. Serve with PKU-friendly bread to soak up the dressing.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, please let me know what you think.