Years ago, I spotted a similar salad on the cover of a Fine Cooking magazine, and it inspired this layered fennel, apple & cucumber salad with lemon vinaigrette. It’s been a family favorite for a long time. While you can certainly toss everything together, taking a few extra minutes to layer the ingredients beautifully feels almost meditative – and kids love to help. My youngest always volunteers to “make it pretty,” and it quickly became one of the first salads she learned to prepare (though I still handle the slicing for safety 😉).
If you follow me, you probably know that fennel is one of my favorite vegetables. Its warm, licorice-like flavor complements apples, cucumbers, and radishes in this dish so well, and it is also known for supporting digestion. This simple, refreshing salad is lovely alongside salmon cakes, roasted salmon, or chicken, and brightens almost any meal. During late summer and early fall, we harvest most of these ingredients from our garden, which makes it feel extra special. It’s a nourishing dish that quietly says, I care. Once you make it, you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again.
Gather all ingredients: Cucumber, apple, radish, fennel, lemon, chives, extra virgin olive oil, maple syrup, fine sea salt, and pepper.
Combine all dressing ingredients to make the vinaigrette.
Thinly slice all the vegetables.
Layer the cucumber, apple, and radish in a circular pattern, pile the shaved fennel in the center and drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette.
Layered Fennel, Apple & Cucumber Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Crisp, colorful, and so delicious, this layered fennel, apple, and cucumber salad is dressed with a simple lemon vinaigrette. Perfect as a nourishing side, kid-friendly, and easy to assemble - a beautiful addition to any meal!
6
servings20
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- For the lemon vinaigrette
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
pinch of fine sea salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- For the salad
1 large cucumber (or English cucumber)
1 medium apple*
3-4 small radishes (or 1 watermelon radish)
1 fennel bulb
Directions
- To make the dressing, combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or jar and whisk (or shake) until emulsified.
- Using a mandolin or knife, slice the cucumber into thin rounds, the apple into thin wedges, the radishes into thin rounds, and shave the fennel thinly (remove the fennel core if it’s large or tough.)
- On a large plate or platter, layer the cucumbers slightly (starting from the outside) overlapping in a circular pattern to cover the entire surface of the plate. Continue with the apple slices, leaving a visible ring of cucumber. Repeat with the radishes, leaving a border of apples, and finally pile the shaved fennel in the center.
- Drizzle the dressing evenly over the salad just before serving and enjoy!**
Notes
- * Crisp apple varieties like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Fuji work best for texture and sweetness.
- ** You can make this salad a few hours in advance if needed. I like to assemble it completely, then drizzle just a little of the vinaigrette over the exposed apple slices to keep them from browning. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.
