A salad featuring 3 superstar ingredients

I recently adapted this recipe for a salad with shaved fennel, manchego cheese, and figs. I can't imagine a better trio of ingredients. I have written previously about my love for roasted fennel, but I have discovered that thinly sliced raw fennel is equally delicious when allowed to marinate in a vinaigrette. Manchego cheese, on the other hand, would taste good on the bottom of a shoe. Dried figs provide the perfect sweet foil to the manchego's salty nuttiness. Together, these 3 superstars combine to produce one of the best-tasting salads I've had.

Here is my version of the recipe:

2 bags of arugula salad mix

1 chunk manchego cheese (about 8 oz)

8-10 dried figs (or as many as you'd like)

1 bulb fennel

Juice from 2 lemons
~ 1/2 cup olive oil
salt, pepper

Cut the stems and end off of the fennel bulb and slice it in half. Then slice each half as thinly as possible with a knife, or with a mandoline. Put the fennel in a bowl and set aside.

Mix the lemon juice with an equal volume of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a bowl or cruet.

Pour about a third of the dressing over the fennel and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to serve.

In the meantime, cut up the dried figs into quarters and shave the manchego cheese with a vegetable peeler. Alternatively, you can soak the figs to rehydrate them (as described in the recipe linked above) or use fresh figs. Place the arugula salad in serving bowl and top with figs and cheese.

When ready to serve, add the fennel to the rest of the salad. You can add the fennel to each portion individually or mix the fennel in; it is up to you. Serve the remainder of the lemon vinaigrette on the side.

Enjoy!