I Was Born to Cook's Citrus-Fennel Salad + Cardoon Pie {SRC Reveal}

It's the first Monday of the month which means one thing: Secret Recipe Club reveal for Group A. This month I was assigned to I Was Born to Cook, a blog written by Melissa, a young-at-heart 40-something, first generation Italian/Greek girl who was born and raised in Northern NJ, right outside of NYC. She writes that cooking has always been a passion of hers. I can relate. And I hope she can also understand that while I was passionately inspired by these two recipes - Citrus Fennel Salad and Sicilian Artichoke Pie - I improvised, putting my own spin on her creations, based on what I had in my fridge.

Citrus Fennel Salad

I picked my first recipe almost immediately: Citrus Fennel Salad is a salad she serves during her Feast of the Fishes on Christmas Eve. She cooks seven fish dishes. When I lived in Italy - and ever since - if we do the Feast of the Fishes for Christmas Eve, we prepare twelve dishes. I remember it was one dish per apostle. I have heard that different regions in Italy do different numbers of dishes. I had heard nine before. I wonder what the significance of seven is...

Here's my version of her citrus fennel salad.

butter lettuce

1 large pink grapefruit

1 fennel bulb

black olives, left whole (I took the picture before adding the olives! Sorry!)

extra virgin olive oil

tangerine balsamic vinegar

a few squeezes of fresh orange juice

a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground sea salt
4-6 caviar limes

Tear the washed and dried butter lettuce into bite-sized pieces and lay them on bottom of the serving platter or plate.  Peel the grapefruit, section it, and scatter pieces over the salad. Cut fronds off fennel bulb and cut bulb into thin pieces.  Lay on top of the lettuce and grapefruit.  

Squeeze orange and lemon juice on top, then add a few splashes each of oil and vinegar.  Top with freshly ground pepper and freshly ground sea salt.  This can be served cold or at room temp (we serve at room temp). Right before serving, dot the salad with the olives squeeze the caviar lime beads over the top.

Torta di Cardi

Inspired by Melissa's Sicilian Artichoke Pie (Tortino di Carciofini), I created a phyllo-crusted creation featuring artichoke's cousin cardoons.

Clean and chop the cardoons into bite-sized pieces and boil them until soft. Cool slightly and stir them into beaten eggs seasoned with sea salt and cinnamon.

Layer your baking dish with 6 layers of phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with melted butter.

Line the bottom of the crust with a layer of lowfat cottage cheese. Pour the cardoon mixture in and sprinkle with feta cheese. Top with 4 more layers of phyllo, brushing each layer with butter. Roll the edges in to form a crust lip.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the phyllo is crisp and golden brown. Serve with a green salad dressed in an oregano dressing.

Melissa, thank you for the inspiration. Or should I say 'grazie mille'? Or maybe 'σας ευχαριστώ'?! What great, fresh flavors!