Roasted Fennel and Grape Salad Recipe (2024)

This goes great with orange slices and/or beets if grapes not available.Vegans can drop the cheese with no penalty.

I have never even tasted this dish before I entered hospital recently, and I can't wait to try it out myself! My only suggestion that I have is that once you have achieved the magical combination of baked fennel bulb and seedless grapes of any colour available, any additional ingredient-walnuts, pomegranate seeds, finely diced fresh herbs is only a useless visual adornment distraction from an otherwise 'celestial harmony' of the interplay between baked fennel and bakes seedless grapes !

Made this tonight exactly according to the recipe, and it was perfectly balanced and delicious. I rarely follow recipes exactly but was glad that I chose to this time. I'm new to Hana Asbrink but offer kudos to this recipe, which I will add to those that I will serve to serious cook friends.

I loved the flavors but the fennel did not get tender. I cooked it for 40 minutes then let it go another 5, but it was chewy. The grapes were very much ready though. Should the fennel be sliced thinner and put in first, followed by the grapes? Anyone else have this experience?

RE: problem with fennel still being too tough after 45 minutes in the oven: the photo above shows pieces that are much narrower than the 1/6 of a bulb the recipe calls for. Also, I usually separate the layers before roasting, in order to have more surface area to caramelize. You could also try cooking at 425 F or adding the grapes after the fennel has cooked a bit. Hope that helps.

I really enjoyed this recipe. It is not a side dish. It is a distinct course on its own and could easily be a vegetarian main dish with a soup first course or fresh bread and cheese. I substituted "drunken Goat" cheese for the Manchego. I had a tough fennel bulb, which took 60+ minutes to get to the right state of doneness. I used extra large red seedless grapes which were delicious and substantial looking on the plate. They also took extra time to get the right amount of doneness in the oven.

What fantastic flavors! The orange is a brilliant partner for the shallots and the fennel, and the grapes add such a rich sweetness. All the desirable notes are hit: Sweet, crunchy, salty, complexity, roasted vegetable caramel. I cut the fennel a little thinner (1/2 inch slices) and removed the core, yielding pieces that easily roasted and got tender within 40 minutes, or even 35. Served with Mark Bittman's seared steak and steamed asparagus. Perfect early spring supper.

Paired with roasted salmon over asparagus with farro on the side. Terrific!

There’s a lot to like in this dish. But the outer leaves of the fennel, even after removing some before cooking, can distract from the lovely flavor conbinations. I suggest, after roasting, that you cut off the root section that holds the leaves together, discard any tough outer leaves and spread the tender inner leaves with the grapes.

I don't think I've ever left a comment on a NYT recipe, but I must for this gem. The flavors were incredible, simple and elegant but SO tasty, so much more than I expected from a relatively short ingredient list and simple directions. Bonus: I will certainly incorporate elements of this dish into future dishes (roasted grapes on everything from now on forever).

Peter Kleinbard, You recommend discarded the thicker outer layer of the fennel bulb. A tip to make this deliciously useable in this roasted fennel recipe is to use a veg peeler and spiff up / knock down (how are those for cooking terms ;-) ) the outside bulb layer, slice them in a little thinner wedges and they roast up beautifully in this dish.

JodyB, You asked about making this ahead and serving room temp. We thought it was delicious at room temp. Made about 90 min ahead of service and assembled it up through the walnuts. Added cheese about 30 min prior. I wouldn't plan to serve this chilled. If I were porting it somewhere I'd platter the roasted fennel & grapes, take dressing, nuts and cheese separated then dress & finish on site. Should work fine.

I don't know if anyone has already commented on this but the grapes should not (and do not need to) roast for 40 minutes! I would add them maybe 5 - 10 before fennel is done. Instead of using common sense, I followed the instructions and some of the grapes just melted into black bubbles. Otherwise, good. I will try it again.

Perhaps it would have been more difficult to toast walnuts (i.e. to toast them equally) that have already been chopped?

This is that rare kind of recipe: it is easy to do; the flavor is excellent; and it really is distinct from any other sort of dish. If you are hesitating over the often strong taste of fennel, it turns out the roasting mellows it considerably.

This is absolutely wonderful! I would not use so much dressing and the grapes only need 10-15 minutes to bake. I cut the fennel slices to 1/3 inch slices. My bake time decreased by 10 minutes and the fennel was soft and caramelized.

Easy and delicious results! Try adding oranges as well to the mix.

Wow, incredible recipe. I had to bump up the temperature to 450 to get the fennel to roast nicely, but otherwise I made it as directed. Will definitely make this again!

Made this for dinner tonight and let me just say WOW! Delicious flavors and textures, going into the rotation especially when we have guests. The vinegaret is so good I plan to use it for other salads. I subbed bleu cheese for the Manchego because that's what I had, otherwise followed the recipe. The only thing I will do differently next time is wait to add the grapes to the pan for only the last ten minutes. At least we know our new smoke alarms are working!

This was awesome - the flavors are distinct but complement extremely well. The only recommendation I would make is to use parchment paper under the grapes. During the last 20 minutes when they really started to break down and caramelize, they also created a jam, basically, that ended up cooked solid on my baking sheet. I got it off with baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water, but parchment paper would have been the way to go.

Wow roasted fennel is to die for. Used grape tomatoes instead of grapes due to a boyfriend’s personal preference, but the caramelized umami was stilll delicious!

I broiled two slices of nice bakery bread with olive oil, cut those into cubes, and tossed them with the salad (making sure to get plenty of dressing on them). This isn’t exactly healthy but was tasty!I also doubled the amount of dressing made, obviously, because if a recipe calls for half of an orange and half of a shallot it’s only guaranteeing I waste half of an orange and shallot.

We found that roasting the fennel and grapes for 40 minutes resulted in burnt grapes and fennel. When gardens come in again I'll try it with a shorter roasting time.

I had no grapes instead I substituted with a sliced a red bell pepper and got a fantastic delicious salad!

Love this! Was a surprise hit with my husband and his aunt. Not a lot of work, and adds some interesting variety to our diets. I followed suggestions of prior reviewers, and sliced my fennel into 1/4" - 1/2" chunks, and separated the thicker sections. They cooked beautifully. Roasting of both fennel and grapes does wonderful things! Also used sheep feta crumbles instead of the pricier manchego, and used a pomegranate balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar. Will be making this again!

I followed the recipe as written, except - based on the comments of several reviewers - I delayed putting the grapes on the sheet pan by 10 minutes. And, I did cut the fennel into longitudinal slices about 3/4' to 1" wide at the core end. Everything came out wonderfully!

This is one of those meals that my husband and I ate quietly, savoring all the lovely flavors. I can't eat cruciferous vegetables - they are full of sulfur - and I'm thrilled to have this winter salad recipe that doesn't begin, Roast a cauliflower....Next time I'll cover the sheet pan with parchment paper.

Buy young, tender fennel -- or the less stringy the better in winter -- to avoid tough and chewy pieces

I'm thinking about making this with pomegranate seeds instead of grapes, just because I have a ton of pomegranate seeds on hand. Does anyone have insight about *roasting* pomegranate seeds? I know I could sprinkle them on at the end, but I'm intrigued by the recipe description of the roasted flavor of the grapes and wondering if I could achieve something similar with pomegranate.

Perfect use for those grapes that are starting to get too ripe, any sweet seedless grape works. I forgot to add the roasted walnuts when serving, and they weren't missed.