Ingredients

Serves 4

Salad
2–3 large celery stalks, trimmed
1 smallish bulb fennel
3 tsp finely chopped dill
(or fennel fronds), optional
2–3 tbsp lemon-pressed
Oil dressing or your favourite vinaigrette
1 just-ripe avocado, thinly sliced
140 g smoked salmon, torn into bite-sized pieces
Tiny dill leaves, to garnish


Dill and Macadamia Pesto
4–5 large spring onions (1 cup, chopped)
½ cup (15 g) chopped
Flat-leaf parsley
½ cup (30 g) chopped dill
½–1 tbsp white wine vinegar
120 g macadamias, lightly roasted
¾ cup (180 ml) extra virginolive oil
Sea salt flakes and coarsely
Ground black pepper


 

Method

 
This lovely salad is beautifully balanced, if I do say so myself. The lush richness of the salmon and avocado are offset by the clean, fresh flavour of dill and the crunch of the fennel and celery. All cool whites, greens and pinks, the salad makes a terrific starter for a special winter dinner as it looks fabulous and is dead easy to make.
You will find that this recipe makes more of the dill and macadamia pesto than you need for the salad, however it’s so versatile and keeps so well that I’m always happy to have the extra on hand. If you’re wondering what to do with it, I find it’s terrific tossed with green beans or peas as a vegetable dish; spooned onto roasted tomatoes, which you can then sprinkle with feta and warm through; or mixed with marinated goat’s cheese and used to top bruschetta, along with smoked salmon or salmon roe (this is particularly good!).


First, make the pesto.
To do this, roughly chop the pale green and white parts of the spring onions, then measure them out to make sure you have 1 cup. Now put the chopped spring onion, parsley, dill, vinegar, macadamias and a third of the oil into a blender or food processor and whiz them all together. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in more oil until the mixture is smooth and thick. Taste the pesto and add salt and pepper – you may find it needs a little more vinegar too, if you would like it to be a bit sharper. Scrape the mixture into a container, seal it tightly and place it in the fridge. (The pesto keeps well for at least 2 weeks as long as there is a thin film of oil floating on the surface to seal it.)

NOTE: To prevent the acid in the vinegar from dulling the lovely green colour of the pesto if you’re making it ahead of time, leave out the vinegar, then add it just before you use the pesto.

Then, make the salad
Slice the celery stalks very finely on the diagonal, then tip them into a bowl. Now halve the fennel, make a V-shaped cut to remove the core in each half and slice it lengthways as finely as possible. Add it to the bowl of celery, along with the chopped dill or fennel fronds (if using). Pour in the dressing and mix everything together.

To Serve
Line up four dinner plates along your bench. Dollop two dessertspoonfuls of pesto into the middle of each plate, flattening it out a little with the back of the spoon as you go. Sit a little pile of the fennel and celery salad on the pesto, then top this with a couple of slices of avocado and some loosely rolled-up pieces of smoked salmon (if you like you can dot a little bit more pesto in amongst everything too). Add another layer of salad, avocado and smoked salmon, finishing off with a few slivers of fennel from the salad. Sprinkle each salad with tiny dill leaves and serve immediately.


THE COUNTRY COOKBOOK Seasonal jottings and recipes, by Belinda Jeffery,
Published by Lantern RRP $59.95