Whenever I see fennel at the grocery store, I think to myself “what can I do with this?” I originally bought this fennel to make a fennel slaw but then, when I was rifling through the fridge, I got an idea and went in a totally different direction. I love the easy to cook, all-natural chicken sausage that is available these days from Aidells or Al fresco.
I grilled the fennel to help caramelize and mellow the flavor a bit, while I also grilled the chicken sausage. Next, I paired this with a crisp tart apple for a killer flavor combo that harmonizes perfectly on a bed of arugula. To dress the salad, I made a preserved meyer lemon infused olive oil that I drizzled along with red wine vinegar. I added a dash of citrus finishing salt and fresh ground pepper for a hearty yet delicate salad that was delightful to the last bite.
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Grilled Fennel, Chicken Sausage and Apple Salad
- Yield: serves 2
Ingredients
- 3 chicken sausage links
- 1 large fennel bulb, sliced into quarters
- 1 large crisp red apple
- 2 cups arugula
- olive oil, to taste
- red wine, to taste
- sea salt (I used citrus finishing salt- here is a recipe to make your own!)
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
Directions:
Grill the sausage and fennel quarters on a medium high grill about 350-400 degrees. Chicken sausage should be done when it registers 170 degrees internally when checked with an internal read thermometer like the Thermapen (note, Aidells and Al Fresco are precooked but for non-precooked Sausage you need to make sure you hit this internal temp). Fennel should begin to soften and develop nice char marks. Remove chicken sausage and fennel and let cool. Next, slice the apple in thin slices and layer on top of a bed of arugula. Slice the fennel and sausage and layer onto each salad. Drizzle with olive oil (see directions for citrus infused olive oil below) and red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with Sea salt (I used a citrus finishing salt) and fresh ground pepper.
This dish is low(er) carb, gluten free and paleo friendly!
Notes
To make meyer lemon infused olive oil, I combined extra virgin olive oil with 2 preserved meyer lemons and emulsified with an immersion (stick) blender. I've been using this oil to drizzle onto salads and veggies and it adds a great hint of flavor!
Preserved Meyer Lemon infused olive oil.
Add a little bit of the fennel tops as garnish on the salad for fun presentation.
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I always want my chicken sausages cooked in excess of 165°F too. Great looking spring meal.