Pair sweet wintry citrus with sharp crunchy fennel and mixed greens for a delicious side salad. Oh, and it’s gluten free, vegan, paleo AND gorgeous!
Bah! The colors of this salad kill me every time! Almost too pretty to eat, no? Not quite. While being back in California, you do get a little warped view of seasonally eating since there is so much gorgeous food at farmers markets all year round, the fruits are still fewer and farther between in January. We’re still seeing apples and pears ( I even saw berries today!), but citrus really shines through in the wintertime. I’ve been going a little crazy at the farmers market (date paste, anyone?) and I grabbed a bunch of blood oranges. I wanted to put together a salad with some sweetness and some crunch, but keep it light enough for the ultimate side salad. I can’t wait to bring this to parties because it will pretty much work with any diet or diet restrictions - it’s gluten free, paleo, vegan, etc.
Slicing up an orange to decorate a salad takes a bit of work. There’s a great tutorial here on how to slice and segment oranges, if you need more in depth than what I provided. I got my first lesson in this from Rachel, my kids cafe colleague :). Pretty much, slice the tops off first and then cut off the peel until all the flesh is exposed. Then lay on its side and slice into rounds. The orange gets very tender and easy to fall apart into segments, so be gentle and use a sharp knife.
For those who are intimidated to your own dressings, start with this one. Squeeze the juices from the leftover orange pieces that you aren’t planning on using in your salad into a small bowl. Mix in olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a bit of chopped up fennel herb. Salt and pepper to taste. You can even squeeze in a little lemon juice if you’re looking for any tartness beyond the vinegar to cut the orange juice. Whisk up and set aside until you’re ready to serve!
Assembling this salad is really easy, and incredibly satisfying. It’s like the ultimate no-fail DIY Pinterest project. Sliced fennel, mixed greens and the dressing are tossed together. Then, decoratively display your oranges to your liking. It’s so simple, there are so few ingredients, but it is such a crowd pleaser. The fennel adds a great crunch, the citrus adds wonderfully sweetness and juice, and the dressing is light and fresh. Serve this with your entree of choice - we ate ours with fish and it was wonderful, but I can imagine that alongside some roasted chicken or steak would be perfect as well. If you’re looking to make this a heartier salad that can stand on it’s own, I would recommend putting in goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts or pistachios. Enjoy, and happy winter eating!
- For the salad:
- Lettuce spring mix (equivalent of one storebought bag)
- 3 medium blood oranges
- 2 medium oranges or tangerines
- 2 fennel bulbs
- For the dressing:
- 4 tbsp leftover juice from the citrus
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chopped fennel herbs
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- For each piece of citrus, slice off the top ends until the flesh is visable
- Stand upright and going around the fruit, remove the rest of the peel with a sharp knife
- Lay the fruit on its side and cut it into slices
- In a small bowl, squeeze out the juice from any of the pieces of orange that you have cut away. This will likely get around 4 tbsp of orange juice, but if needed, cut a new orange and squeeze for more. Set aside
- Slice the fennel bulbs lengthwise into long pieces
- Wash your lettuce
- In the small bowl with the orange juice, mix in the chopped fennel herbs, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Taste, and add more of any of the above if needed
- Mix the fennel, dressing and lettuce and place into a large serving bowl
- Decorate with the citrus and serve!
To make this a heartier salad that can stand on it's own, add in toasted nuts (pistachios or hazelnuts would work great) and crumbled goat cheese.
Thanks for stopping by! 
