Orange and Fennel Salad

Serves: 6 Time: 00:30 Skill:

Crisp refreshing and attractive, this salad has it all. You can serve it as a first course, a side dish, or on a buffet. It is especially useful during the winter months when oranges are at their peak, but tomatoes and other vegetables are not at their best, and it is an excellent the grilled fish. Because oranges can vary in sweetness, adjust the acidity with a little vinegar, if you wish. I like to use a plastic V-slicer or a mandoline to thinly slice the fennel, but use a knife if you prefer. Just be sure the fennel is very thin.

Ingredients
Recipe

2 navel oranges
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium fennel bulbs, about 1 ¾ pounds
1 small red onion thinly cut into half-moons
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

Finely grate the zest from one orange into a medium bowl. Using a serrated knife, trim off the top and bottom from the oranges. Working with one at a time, place in orange on end on the work surface and cut away the skin and thick pith where it meets the flesh, leaving a peeled sphere. Cut the orange horizontally into 1/4 inch rounds. Squeeze enough of the rounds in your hand over a small bowl to obtain 2 tablespoons of juice. Cover and refrigerate the remaining orange rounds.
Add the orange juice to the bowl with zest. Whisk in the oil. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut off the top stocks from the fennel bulbs. Reserve the fronds and save the stocks for another use. Cut each bulb in half vertically. Using a plastic V-slice mandoline or large knife, cut the fennel crosswise into slices about 1/16 inch thick. Transfer to a medium bowl and toss with the dressing. Cover the bowl and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Just before serving, taste the salad for acidity, and add the vinegar if desired. Arrange the orange slices around the perimeter of the serving platter, overlapping if needed. Add the red onion to the fennel and toss. Season the fennel salad to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the fennel salad over the orange slices so that the slices peek out from under the salad. Coarsely chop a tablespoon or so of the fennel fronds and sprinkle over the salad. Serve chilled.

Pair the Orange and Fennel Salad with Frankie’s Italian Sausage Stuffed Pork Chop (link)and finish with Impastata Ricotta Pie for a meal to remember! This recipe and many other traditional Italian favorites can be found in Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook; From Mom’s Kitchen to Mine and Yours. Order yours today!

Add this recipies ingredients to your basket. Add All Ingredients