I'm abashed.

I have a confession to make. I made a variation on the lentil salad I wrote about the other day, but this time I added quinoa, toasted slivered almonds, and basil. Then I tasted it and thought, "Huh. This is good, but it's not extra delicious the way it was last time. How strange." And then I remembered that the last time I had included an ingredient that I didn't mention when I wrote up the recipe. It's sort of a silly, fussy, trendy, expensive ingredient that I figured you were all unlikely to have on hand, and I had just added it on a whim, and I wasn't even really sure that it made any difference at all, since the resulting salad didn't even taste especially like fennel... well. So, yeah, it was fennel pollen, and if you happen to have some, it's really really good in a lentil salad like this one. It made it fantastic again this time around, too. I apologize for the deception.

Comments

[lindy (a/k/a Mum)]

Now I have to get fennel pollen, dammit.
You probably know I am a total fennel enthusiast, and often substitute it for celery, in recipes where some would say it does not belong. Yet I didn't know about this...and now I can't let it go. The discription in the link is just too much for me.

[redfox]

Yeah, I'm afraid it really is just extremely good. Here is a John Thorne article about it that will beguile you even further.

[lindy (a/k/a Mum)]

Okay- so I got the fennel pollen, and I made up this amazing baked pasta, shrimp and fennel thing; it is so good. I'm going to make it again for Richard's birthday tomorrow. I think it would also be quite wonderful without the shrimp.If it is as good the 2nd time, I will post about it. Thanks for the tip- I think. Magical-but expensive. But you don't need much.

[redfox]

Ohh, num. I look forward to reading about it.