A Salad for Oprah

Me and Oprah have something in common. We both get confused telling fennel and other herbs apart. That's the only thing for now, unfortunately.

Recently, Oprah posted a picture of her holding a big basket of fennel she harvested from her garden. She said she didn't know what to do with that much dill.

No less a person than Jamie Oliver answered spontaneously correcting her and offered some recipe suggestions. That cutie!

This mistake is super common and you can even be at a loss when trying to separate seeds of fennel and anise. I mean, Oprah, I can relate with you!

Oprah being as human as us. (She removed her cape for the picture)

That's fennel, folks.

That's dill.

These are anise seeds - we can make cakes, breads and teas.

These are fennel seeds - we can also use in recipes and teas.

This outstanding salad uses the root of the plant. I learned this recipe in Italy while WWOOFing in Roccarainola.

Ingredients:

• 2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced

• 1 lettuce head, slices in stripes

• 1 red onion, finely chopped

• Oregano (best if fresh, otherwise dried will do)

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

• Salt and pepper

And now?

1. Mix in a big bowl the fennel, lettuce and onion.

2. In a smaller container pour the lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix them with a fork before adding to the bigger bowl.

3. Try it and tell me if isn’t it remarkable people are unaware that fennel has a body!

Special credits: I learned this recipe with a wwoofer so remarkable as Oprah. Inbal, big kisses!