This fennel and radicchio salad is an easy dish to riff on. Say you’ve got two fine fennel bulbs from the market and a lovely head of radicchio. Imagine the possibilities.

A simple preparation requires just seasoning the sliced fennel with salt and pepper, adding lemon juice, a little grated garlic and flavorful olive oil, then tossing with torn radicchio to coat. (You could also use curly endive or speckly Castelfranco in place of radicchio.) For a more complex version, you could make a zippy vinaigrette with lemon, garlic and oil, then add chopped anchovy (a little or a lot) and perhaps a dab of Dijon mustard, since the combo of sweet fennel and bitter radicchio pair well with an assertive dressing.

Fennel and Radicchio Salad With Anchovy and Egg

Ingredients:

• 3 medium fennel bulbs, topped and trimmed, fronds reserved for another use

• Salt and black pepper

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)

• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, grated

• 1 small garlic clove, grated or smashed to a paste

• 1 medium head radicchio (about 12 ounces)

• 3 large eggs (cooked 8 minutes), cooled in ice water and peeled

• 4-6 anchovy fillets, preferably the best quality you can find, rinsed, patted dry and halved

Directions:

Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, slice fennel crosswise 1/8-inch thick. Place slices in a wide salad bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and garlic. Toss everything together, coating the fennel well. Taste for salt and adjust.

Remove and discard any wilted outer leaves of radicchio. Separate tender leaves, tearing large ones into smaller pieces.

To finish the salad, quarter the eggs. Add radicchio to the salad bowl and sprinkle very lightly with salt. Toss together radicchio and fennel, coating everything well. Garnish with quartered eggs. (Yolks should have a moist center.) Top eggs with the anchovy fillets.

Total time: 15 minutes, serves 4-6.

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