Fennel whole wheat pasta salad

 

The weather has been nice here for the past days, and it really feels like salad season is back!

I made this whole wheat pasta salad with fresh fennel, celery, and spring onion from the souq. Fennel is an excellent source of vitamin C, and a very good source of potassium, dietary fibre, molybdenum, manganese, copper, phosphorus, and folate. It is also a good source of calcium, pantothenic acid, magnesium, iron, and niacin (vitamin B3).

The quantities in the recipe are for 2-3 people. This salad is ready in 40 minutes or so.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ to 2 cups (150 g to 200 g) of dry whole wheat penne rigate pasta
• Water
• Salt
• 1 fennel, excess stalk removed, bottom cut and outside leaves removed. Cut in two, and sliced thinly.
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• 1 handful of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Juice of half a freshly squeezed lemon

Preparation

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, until al dente, about 10 minutes, or according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, transfer to a serving bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and let it cool.

When cooled, add the fennel, celery, spring onion and coriander, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil until smooth.

Add the oil mixture to the pasta-vegetables, toss well and serve!