The wonderful combination of fennel and oranges makes a vibrant and gorgeous salad with serious taste appeal.
Fennel orange salad is a refreshing salad enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean from east to west. To make it, simply top sliced fennel with thinly sliced rounds of orange, and drizzle with a generous dose of tasty extra virgin olive oil, equally generous freshly ground pepper, and sea salt.
Below are my tips for making the best fennel orange salad with little fuss. For full instructions, be sure to scroll on down to the recipe card.
Ingredients
This salad focuses on the beautiful interplay of flavors and textures of just two star ingredients: fennel and oranges, so we want both to be super flavorful in their own right. Taking full advantage of both at their prime during the cooler months is especially rewarding!
Ingredients: fennel, oranges, extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper.
Fennel
If the fennel fronds are fresh and vibrant, by all means, include them.
There are different ways you can cut the fennel for this salad. We usually like to cut it into thin wisps, but sometimes we cut it into thin wedges or thick strips, and at other times we slice the fennel paper thin in the mandoline.
More on Fennel
The oranges above were part of a huge windfall, figuratively and literally, after a long night of Mistral winds sweeping down from France through the Mediterranean islands of Spain, France and Italy. Some of these oranges barely hint of their blood orange lineage, as it was a warmer winter, and many of the blood oranges were swept off their branches before enough cold nights could spark the magical coloring of their pulp from orange to red.
Oranges
You can use any kind of orange. The important thing is that they are beautifully sweet. In-season oranges, at their prime during the cooler months, are best. Both the orange peel and pith is carefully cut off the orange first (see an example in the photo above), then sliced into rounds — or even wedges if you prefer.
With the juices from the orange, I find no need to make a separate dressing, as the juices tend to naturally intermingle with the olive oil right on the plate. Especially beautiful with red oranges, this salad is equally delicious with all sweet oranges.
Tip: If your oranges aren’t quite at their best, you may want to add a slight touch of honey or sugar to help them out, or try a splash of red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar to add extra vibrance.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Pepper
Flavorful fruity extra virgin olive oil goes particularly well with oranges. So does lots of freshly ground or crushed pepper. Both really contribute to the personality of the salad, adding a sensuously attractive dimension.
Variations & Additions
This orange salad, reflecting Moorish influences and popular in the Mediterranean wherever the most flavorful oranges grow, comes in different variations. Our favorite way to enjoy it is in it’s simplest form with fennel, oranges, extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground pepper and sea salt.
From there you can go further. A few popular additions you may want to experiment with are black olives, red onions, capers, and nuts such as broken walnuts, crushed hazelnuts or toasted almonds, sliced or crushed. Or try with radicchio, either raw or slightly sautéed.
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More Tasty Salads to Enjoy
- Puntarelle alla Romana Salad
- Rocket (Arugula) Salad with Crispy Potatoes, Roasted Almonds and Dijon Dressing
- Mesclun Salad with Avocado and Spanish Fried Egg
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Serving
Fennel orange salad is delightful served as an appetizer, but it is also a great occasion to eat as the Italians and French eat their salads — after the main course. In this case, who knows, it may even satisfy any sweet tooth at the table.
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb
- 2 small oranges
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Fennel: Reserve any nice fronds, then trim clean the stalks and base. Cut the fennel bulb into thin slices and spread out on individual plates or a large serving platter.
- Oranges: Cut about ½-inch off each end, then set the orange on its new flat base. Carefully following the contour of the orange, cut the skin off, including the white pith. Slice the orange into ¼-inch thick rounds and arrange over the fennel.
- Serve: Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with fennel fronds. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Popular Additions: Black olives, red onions, capers, sliced or crushed nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts or toasted almonds. Or try with radicchio, either raw or slightly sautéed with salt.
Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
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