A Moroccan-inspired combination of tender tomatoes with golden, charred fennel and a herby, citrus dressing
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
See more
Published
This is Moroccan-inspired and very good with roast lamb or spicy barbecued mackerel. If you want to have it on its own, yogurt or labneh are good alongside and, of course, flatbread or couscous. It might seem like a hassle to roast the fennel and tomatoes separately but it does make things easier when you assemble the salad. Each element stays intact.
You can use coriander or mint instead of parsley in the dressing, and extend the salad by adding fresh leaves (rocket, watercress or baby spinach). Just note that if you add leaves you’ll need to make more dressing.
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
40 mins
Serves
4
as a main course or 6 as a side dish
Ingredients
For the tomatoes
- 8 large plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp harissa
- 1 tsp caster sugar
For the fennel
- 2 large bulbs fennel, stalks and outer layer discarded, root ends trimmed, fronds reserved
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in a mortar
- Good pinch chilli flakes
- 2½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the dressing
- 1½ small preserved lemons, plus 2 tsp juice from the jar
- 1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
- ¾ tbsp runny honey
- 3½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
Step
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
Step
Halve 8 large plum tomatoes lengthways and lay them in a single layer in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish.
Step
Mix together 2 tbsp olive oil, ¾ tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp harissa in a bowl.
Step
Pour over the tomatoes, coating them well. Sprinkle, cut-side up, with 1 tsp caster sugar and season.
Step
Halve 2 large fennel bulbs (stalks and outer layer discarded, root ends trimmed, fronds reserved) and cut each half into 2½cm-thick wedges, keeping them intact at the base.
Step
Toss with the juice of ½ lemon in a bowl. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, ½ tsp fennel seeds (coarsely crushed in a mortar), a pinch of chilli flakes and 2½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, then season.
Step
Toss well. Spread out the fennel in another roasting tin and cover tightly with foil. Put both trays in the oven.
Step
Roast the fennel for about 25-30 minutes, until tender (the undersides should be pale gold), then remove the foil and roast for another 5-10 minutes, or until soft, golden and slightly charred in patches.
Step
Roast the tomatoes for 35-40 minutes, or until caramelised in patches and slightly shrunken. Leave both to cool to room temperature.
Step
Discard the flesh from 1½ small preserved lemons. Cut the skin into dice.
Step
Whisk 1 tbsp white-wine vinegar with 2 tsp juice from the preserved lemon jar and ¾ tbsp runny honey.
Step
Whisk in 3½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, season, and add the lemon skin and 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley. Taste for seasoning and sweet-sour balance.
Step
Arrange the fennel and tomatoes on a platter with the tomato juices.
Step
Scatter any fennel fronds over the top. Spoon on the dressing or serve on the side.