Distraction Salad

This isn’t a salad. This is a tactical vegetable strike. Fennel. Sweet. Aromatic. Slightly licorice-y. You sauté this bad boy in olive oil until it softens up and starts getting golden around the edges. Then celery comes in. Everybody underestimates celery. Crunchy. Fresh. Tough as hell. Not anymore. Olive oil brings them together. Heat breaks them down. Fennel gets sweeter. Celery gets tender but keeps enough crunch to remind you who you're dealing with. Parsley. Fresh. Green. Totally unpredictable. And then…the cashews. Toasted. Because raw cashews are for cowards. Crunch. Richness. Nutty flavor. Boom. Warm fennel. Sautéed celery. Olive oil. Fresh parsley. Toasted cashews. Sweet. Savory. Crunchy. Son of a bitch. It's actually really good. Three vegetables walked into that pan. Only one salad walked out.

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb
3 stalks celery
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup parsley leaves
1 cup roasted salted whole cashews

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the celery to remove the fibers on the outside of the stalks. Chop the celery into 1/4 inch slices and the fennel bulb into 1/2 inch pieces. Add to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables become soft. Add in the parsley and cook and additional minute.
Remove the vegetables from the pan and place into a bowl. Add the cashews to the pan and toast for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to brown. Add cashews to the vegetables and toss to combine.
Serve