Blood Orange & Fennel Salad

Food

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Blood Orange & Fennel Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives
• 1 medium-large fennel bulb, leaves and stems trimmed off
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• Juice & zest of 1 lemon
  
• 3 large blood oranges
• 1 ruby red grapefruit 
• 1/2 small shallot, peeled and cut into paper-thin slices
• 10 mint leaves
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Pink or flaky sea salt, for finishing
  

A few notes on making this: 

• I love this salad in winter. It’s crunchy, tart, a bit sweet, and also bitter. The fennel adds a lovely crunch and the sea salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. It feels refreshing and light during winter when so many foods are heavy. 
• If you like, you can add an endive bulb to this for some added crunch and bulk. 
• I love this best with blood oranges, but you can use a navel orange if blood oranges aren’t available where you are. 

Directions:

• Place nuts in dry skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, to toast. Let cool. Coarsely chop and set aside.
• Slice about 1/2 inch from bottom of fennel and discard. Slice fennel very thinly on a mandoline or with a knife, starting with flat bottom side. Toss fennel and shallots in serving bowl with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
• Trim all peel and pith from oranges. Holding peeled fruit over bowl containing fennel, use sharp knife to cut sections (these are called supremes) from membrane and let them drop into bowl. 
• Squeeze remaining membrane over bowl to sprinkle salad with remaining juice, and discard membrane.
• Add lemon zest, mint leaves, olive oil and reserved nuts and toss gently.