Thursday, February 18, 2010

La Veronica- You inspire me

On our last night in Barcelona we were walking down La Rambla looking for a pizza place. We were torn between going to the right or left of the main Rambla but we decided to go left. We walked through a few streets and stopped a waiter outside of a little coffee shop and he told us to go to La Veronica. WHICH was on the right side of La Rambla (where josh wanted to go the whole time). The walk was nice, we stopped at a few bodega's along the way cause josh wanted to get more special cookies before the flight (that'll be in the Spain Post. When we got there the waitress didn't speak English and our Spanish was terrible but we managed to make out the English translations of the menu- barely. I still don't know what kind of pizza topping "Rocket" is supposed to be.
Anyway, I ordered a Fennel Salad and it was so yummy. The fennel was shredded and so thin and wispy and cool and delicious. I loved it and wanted more.
Our first might back in NY I attempted to re-create it and I got pretty close. Here are pics of my creation:




So this is what you need to do:
1 Big Fennel Bulb
1 Perfect Avocado
Lettuce of your choice
Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Salt (I used a pretty floral salt- added a little color b/c of the lavender and rose petals)
Pepper
Pink Peppercorns

Cut the bulb of the fennel vertically (you only use the white part) and use a cheese slicer to get the thinnest strips possible. Once you have a decent pile of shredded fennel set it aside and slice the avocado.
Lay lettuce leaves on the plate; starting from the outside working your way in. drizzle a little olive oil over the lettuce.
Next, place the avocado on top of the lettuce and grind a little salt and pepper on top. Take the pile of shredded fennel and spread it evenly over the top of the salad. Drizzle olive oil and squeeze lemon (be sure not to let any seeds sneak in) over the entire plate. Grind more salt and pepper on the top. Lastly, drop pink peppercorns throughout the dish.
That's it. Simple Delicious fresh healthy salad.

1 comment: