Fennel, Orange and Walnut Salad
"Salad of fennel and oranges is typically Italian and dates back to the time of the Roman legionnaires. For my taste, the addition of the walnuts makes the dish, with their slightly bitter skins contrasting nicely with the sweetness of the orange and slightly licorice flavor of the fennel. I recommend the use of blood oranges if you can (adding to the attractiveness as well as the flavor), but regular oranges will work well, too. Cooking time is marination/cooling time in the refrigerator."
photo by The 500 Chef
- Ready In:
- 1hr 10mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 2 oranges
- 1⁄2 lemon, juice of, only
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 7 whole walnuts, cut in small pieces
directions
- Remove the tough outer leaves of the fennel, cut off the tops and discard; cut each bulb in half and cut out the cores (and discard them too).
- Lay each fennel half in turn on cutting board (cut, flat side down) and slice as thinly as possible; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Slice one orange in half (horizontally) and juice one of the halves, setting juice aside.
- Slice the remaining 1 1/2 oranges horizontally; remove the peel from each slice, then separate the individual sections (you should end up with thin triangles) which then are added to the fennel slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, reserved orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Pour over the fennel and oranges and mix well; allow to marinate at least 30 minutes and preferably one hour in the refrigerator.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the walnut pieces over the salad and mix well.
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Reviews
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This healthy, light and simple salad is very Italian. My family enjoyed the recipe, even my fennel hating husband ate it. I didn't have a lemon, so I used the juice of a lime for the dressing instead. I think that I will toast the walnuts the next time. Thanks for posting Minx. -
Light, refreshing and delightfully tasty! This was a hit at our table... no left-overs. Love the crunch of the walnuts. I made as written, without any alterations. I might add a couple slivers of red onion to this salad the next time I make it (if the kids aren't eating with us, that is). Great recipe. -
Loved the walnuts (I toasted them) and I strongly suggest marinating for 30-60 minutes, it makes all the difference. Thanks for posting. -
Excellent, both in terms of presentation and taste. I used a combination of blood and regular oranges and serveed on a bed of baby arugula and baby spinach leaves. The colors were fabulous. The taste of this is SO Italian -- simple ingredients treated simply so as to underscore and enhance their flavors. Thanks, Minx! -
This is the first recipe from this site we haven't really liked. It looked good and had a nice crunch, but overall we thought the taste was bland. It needed something, but I'm not sure what.
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Tweaks
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This healthy, light and simple salad is very Italian. My family enjoyed the recipe, even my fennel hating husband ate it. I didn't have a lemon, so I used the juice of a lime for the dressing instead. I think that I will toast the walnuts the next time. Thanks for posting Minx.
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this was EXCELLENT. i used tangerine and grapefruit instead of orange, and i thought the grapefruit was really nice with it. i used the lemon too...and the walnuts. i served it that night, and then mixed it with other salads during the week. yummy and healthy!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
FlemishMinx
Belgium
I am an American married to a Belgian, and have lived in Belgium since December 1999. Cooking is my major hobby. I'm also an avid reader, but I have difficulty finding the time. I love to travel. Since moving to Europe I've been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to go a couple of times per year to Paris, as well as having visited London, Rome, Florence, Naples, Amsterdam, and of course Brussels and Antwerp. I've seen at least parts of most regions of France, as well as parts of Germany, Austria, a great deal of Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Luxembourg, and Monaco. I'm absolutely in love with the Bay of Naples and Sorrento coast areas of Italy, which my husband and I recently re-visited on a trip that included Rome, Puglia, Umbria and Marche. I'm still looking forward to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic . . . the list is too long ! One of the bonuses of travel is getting to taste the local cuisine, and afterward trying to figure out how to duplicate it at home.
I think cooking is one of the nicest things a person can do for someone they love (including themself!)
I had to submit a picture with me and my cat, Sophie, as she insists on sitting in my lap when I'm sitting at the computer. If you are wondering what all that stuff hanging on the wall behind us in the photo is, it is just a small part of my husband's military medal collection. He was appalled by my posting this picture-- Our study is the messiest room in our house (thank god!)
