Roast tomatoes, fennel and chickpeas with preserved lemons and honey

Sometimes, a salad stands out as spectacular, and this is that salad. It pops with bright flavours and hints of Moroccan elements. This salad takes a touch of work, mainly roasting the fennel and tomatoes, but otherwise, it is simple. The fennel is roasted with chilli flakes and fennel seed, and the tomatoes are roasted with harissa and balsamic. Together, the salad has flavours that explode: tart from the preserved lemons and vinegar, sweet from the honey, spice from the harissa and chilli flakes, and herby from the fennel and cilantro. This salad is a keeper. One of the problems with having too many cookbooks is that there are not enough days in a year or people or reasons to cook from them all the time. I generally tend toward 275 recipes a year; see my blog. Occasionally, a batch of cookbooks shows up, this time from this chef and author, Diana Henry, who is one of my very favourites. It took me some time to arrive at this recipe, which I have been eyeing for some time. Like all her other cookbooks, this recipe and cookbook is outstanding. All her cookbooks bring a remarkable diversity of flavours and cuisines to my table. Go out and buy all her cookbooks; I cannot recommend them enough!

For more delicious recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the tomatoes: 10 large plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons regular olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1½ tablespoons harissa paste

2 teaspoons caster sugar

Sea salt flakes

Ground black pepper

For the fennel.

2 large fennel bulbs

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (coarsely crushed in a mortar)

1 generous pinch of chilli flakes

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight

For the dressing 1 small preserved lemon plus 2 teaspoons juice from the jar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons runny honey

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F..

Halve the tomatoes lengthways and lay them in a single layer in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish. Mix the regular olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and harissa and pour this over the tomatoes, tossing to coat well. Then, turn the tomatoes and cut side up. Sprinkle with the sugar and season.

Quarter the fennel bulbs, cut off the stalks, and remove any coarse outer leaves. Pull off any tender fronds (reserve these) and cut each piece of fennel into 1-inch thick wedges, keeping them intact at the base. Toss in a bowl with the lemon juice (it stops them from discolouring). Add the garlic, fennel seeds, chilli, and extra virgin olive oil, then season and turn everything over with your hands. Spread out the fennel in a second roasting tin and cover tightly with foil.

Put both trays in the oven. Roast the fennel for 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. Roast the tomatoes for 35–40 minutes or until caramelized in patches and somewhat shrunken. Stir the chickpeas into the fennel and taste for seasoning. Leave both to cool to room temperature.

Now make the dressing. Discard the flesh from the preserved lemons and cut the rind into dice. Whisk the wine vinegar with the preserved lemon juice, runny honey and extra virgin olive oil, season, and add the lemon rind and coriander—taste for seasoning and sweet-sour balance.

Arrange the fennel, chickpeas, and tomatoes on a platter, adding all the juices from the roasting tins—there might be quite a bit from the tomatoes. Scatter any reserved fennel fronds over the top. Spoon on the dressing or serve it on the side.