FENNEL AND ORANGE SALAD

Fennel and orange salad is a colorful and light side dish. Typical of the winter season, it features the vegetable and fruit symbol of the winter months. It is a dish that has roots in Sicilian gastronomic culture, perfect to accompany main courses of all kinds, giving the pleasant sensation of refreshing and degreasing the palate.

The fennel, once cleaned, is cut into thin slices, mixed with peeled orange wedges and then seasoned with oil, salt and pepper. The addition of raisins, toasted pine nuts and the fennel beard itself will give this salad a sweet and pleasantly aromatic touch. If you don’t like raisins, you can replace them with pitted olives for a more decisive and homogeneous flavour.

or the pine nuts, on the other hand, you can omit them or replace them with the dried fruit you prefer, such as almonds or chopped walnuts; if you like, you can dress the salad with a drop of balsamic vinegar, apple vinegar, pomegranate or tamari sauce. This particular dish brings together fruit and vegetables characterized by a high-water content, few calories and beneficial properties: fennel, purifying and rich in potassium, and oranges, a real concentrate of vitamins and antioxidants.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Large fennels.
2 Oranges.
1 tsp. Pine nuts.
1 tsp. Raisins.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Extra virgin olive oil to taste.

PREPARATION:

Clean the fennel: remove the base by cutting it cleanly, also cut off the ends to which the beard is attached and remove the outermost and ruined layer of the vegetables ①. Take the tenderest twigs of the beard, rinse them well, dab them with absorbent paper and keep them aside ②. Cut each fennel in half and rinse it under fresh running water. Then place it in a colander and dry it well ③.

Slice the fennel quite thinly ④. Then transfer them to a serving dish and season with salt, pepper and oil Mix ⑤. Collect the raisins in a bowl with warm water and let it soak for 10 minutes ⑥.

In the meantime, collect the pine nuts in a non-stick pan and toast them for a few minutes turning them often. Remove and let cool ⑦. Wash the oranges and peel them raw with a very sharp knife until you can see the naked pulp ⑧. Always with the same small knife, obtain the fillets by cutting decisively right next to the segments ⑨.

Add the orange fillets to the fennel, distributing them evenly ⑩. Squeeze the raisins carefully, pat them dry with paper towels and then spread them over the salad ⑪. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts ⑫.

Take the beard kept aside and remove the tenderest outer twigs, then arrange them in the dish ⑬. Add a drizzle of oil ⑭. Complete with a final grind of pepper and serve ⑮.

STORAGE

The fennel and orange salad can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for 2-3 hours.