Fennel and orange salad
A simple Sicilian salad of a few ingredients where technique matters most: fennel shaved paper thin and dropped into iced water for 10 minutes. The slices curl and turn glassy and crisp, and the aniseed flavour mellows a little.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Ice bath 10 min
- Segmenting the oranges 8 min
- Assembling 5 min
Step by step
0 / 4 doneShave the fennel paper thin
Cut off the fronds (keep them) and the hard base. Halve the bulb lengthways and shave on a mandoline at 1–2 mm — it is hard to get that thin with a knife. Drop the slices straight into iced water (ideally with a few ice cubes).
Ingredients: 2 pcs fennel bulbs · 500 ml water
TipWith no mandoline, use a vegetable peeler and shave along the cut face of the bulb.
Soak for 10 minutes
Leave the fennel in the iced water for 10 minutes. The slices curl and turn glassy and crisp, and their flavour mellows a little. Drain and dry in a salad spinner.
Ingredients: 2 pcs fennel bulbs · 500 ml water
In cold water the fennel curls and firms up.Segment the oranges
Cut off the top and bottom, stand the orange on a board and slice the peel away along with the white pith, following the curve. Cut the segments out from between the membranes over a bowl — the juice that drips becomes the dressing.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges · 80 g olives · ½ pcs red onion · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper · ¼ tsp chilli flakes
TipSqueeze the leftover membranes into the bowl. You will collect a good amount of juice worth keeping.
A membrane-free segment melts in the mouth — a peel-on slice does not.Assemble the salad
Mix the collected orange juice with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the fennel on a platter, arrange the orange segments, thin onion slivers and olives. Pour over the dressing and scatter chilli and chopped fennel fronds.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges · 80 g olives · ½ pcs red onion · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper · ¼ tsp chilli flakes
Before you start
Do not shave ahead
Cut fennel browns. Shave it no more than half an hour before serving and keep it in water with lemon.
With blood oranges
In winter use blood oranges — they have a more pronounced, slightly raspberry-like tang and the salad looks far more striking.
With fish
It is excellent alongside roast cod or grilled sardines. The fresh aniseed note of the fennel and the tang of the orange balance the fish nicely, especially oily fish.
