Betty's Fennel and Celery Salad

Our friend Betty is a bit of a legend. She has a cafe, a catering company, teaches kids to cook through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and then on weekends she and her sister Stella work minor miracles with a BBQ and produce from the stall holders to serve breakfast at farmers markets around town.

At a market last spring, she made this amazing salad to go with her bacon and egg rolls and found time to the recipe down for me. She chopped lots of celery, fennel, mint, black olives and dressed it with lemon and olive oil. It was so, so good, the kind of thing that makes me hold my bowl very close to my face to speedily hoover up.

Betty's fennel and celery salad
Serves 4 as a side dish

1 small or half a large bunch of celery
1 fennel bulb
A handful of mint, chopped
1/2 a cup of black olives, pitted and chopped
2-3tbs olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt

Cut the fennel bulb in half, then slice length ways using a mandolin. Slice the celery stalks on a mandolin too and place them in a large bowl with the fennel. Finely chopped the leaves of the celery and the fennel fronds and add them to the bowl. Add the mint, black olives, then the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and toss well. Serve straight away.