Can you believe that I only discovered fennel just recently? Me, the aniseed lover? Me, who has been drinking fennel tea for decades? That root though, has never graced my table until last Christmas. In search for an idea for a really refreshing salad for Christmas dinner with my husband’s family, I stumbled across a fennel salad in my very old Greek cookbook. It worked perfectly on a hot Aussie Christmas day alongside the Spanish tapas I made.
So, simple, everyone can do it
My version of this salad is so simple, you can remember it in your sleep. And if you hate having half cut fruit and vegetables rotting in the fridge, well, you’ll be pleased to know that there are no leftovers in this recipe.
Ingredients you will need:
- fennel bulb
- orange
- Kalamata olives
- pomegranate seeds
- pepitas
- olive oil
- vinegar
- parsley
- salt and pepper
Create your own
When it comes to baking, I think recipes are essential for success. For cooking however, I operate on a very different level. Rarely do I follow recipes, but I take ingredients and quantities as suggestions, then make my own. The secret?
TASTE, TASTE, TASTE
Seriously. Everyone has different ideas of what’s yummy. Don’t like Kalamata olives? Use green ones instead. Can find pepitas? Use sunflower seeds. Got a big mandarin tree in the garden? Use them instead of oranges. Who am I to prescribe what you like?
So when you make this recipe, please take the quantities lightly. Become like a chef, and use your taste buds to make this salad or a version of it that you like!
Fennel and orange salad, sweet and juicy
Ingredients
- 1 raw fennel bulb
- 1 large orange
- 1 pomegranate
- 1 small tub olives
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- parsley
- pepitas
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Thinly shave the fennel bulb with a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife.
- Segment the orange. Try to get rid of all the white bits. If that's too much work, just peel and slice. Still yummy, more rustic 🙂
- De-seed the pomegranate.
- Cut olives in half.
- In a large bowl, toss fennel with orange slices, olives and pomegranate seeds.
- Make a quick dressing by squeezing the juice of the cut-off orange bits into a glass, adding olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix under the salad.
- Roughly chop as much parsley as you like and add to the salad.
- You can either toast the pepitas until the pop in a fry pan, or you can garnish your salad with raw ones, up to you.
- I like to add some of the fennel fronds. For extra aniseed flavour. But again, up to you.
