Fennel Orange Salad

First - photo contest update . . . (see Brad - I did promise I wouldn't do this with EVERY entry!)

Four of our photos were entered in the easycar.com photo contest of travel photos.

Currently Tuscany Poppies is third, The Chicago Bean is fourth, and the Torre del Mangia is fifth. If you haven't voted yet it only takes seconds, click though, vote 10 and you're done. You can also vote at work. This isn't a democratic contest - the concept of voting early and voting often rather applies.

Heck - go all out, send the links to friends and relatives so that they can vote as well! Why deny them the fun? *smile*

We submitted a fourth photo - Ballooning in Tuscanythat was disqualified for some reason. We went back and fourth and it was finally accepted. It is now languishing in twenty-second place.

---

This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. This blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen. The round up is being hosted by Archana's Kitchen- be sure to pop by to see what other bloggers have come up with.

There are those folks who are not enamored with fennel - not us. We like it braised, roasted, grilled, broiled . . heck, we even like it raw in a salad. When we were in Montisi Palma made the most amazing salad with fennel and orange. Everyone raved about it.

A few weeks ago, when I was casting about for some dinner ideas, Paul said 'why don't you try and recreate that salad Palmabella made in Italy?'

Well now, I had been challenged.

Palma had not posted her recipe yet so I had to visit my old friend google. I found recipes with olives, mint, anchovies(!) but not the one I was looking for. Finally, at the Whole Foods web site I hit the motherload! This salad was incredible - a colorful and crunchy treat. The sweetness of the oranges is a tasty contrast to the sharp clean taste of the raw fennel.

Enjoy!

Fennel and Navel Orange Salad

3 large navel oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds, then placed in a small bowl
1 medium fennel bulb, top stalk removed
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups arugula, washed and dried
1/2 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons orange juice
1/3 cup tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Drain off any juice from oranges to use for the dressing. Cut fennel bulb in half so it lies flat, and then very thinly slice into half moons. Toss with orange slices and red onion. Divide arugula on 4 salad plates and place mixture on top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice and olive oil. Season and pour over salads.

Of course, the primary ingredient in this recipe is the fennel, a vegetable that we have only discovered recently in our cooking journey . . .

Fennel seems to have an identity crisis, which may have to do with the family size (3000 species) to which it belongs, including parsley, caraway, cumin and coriander. Yet, under any of its gastronomic guises it’s an enormously pleasing food that fills the kitchen with sweetly licoriced aroma conjuring sunny Mediterranean landscapes.

Italians employ the stem and bulb as a vegetable, the French treat it as an herb, using leaves in salads and the little known fennel flower to impart additional flavour to pickled olives and capers.

In the San Francisco area, where the wild fennel grows in abundance, naturally sprigs are used to accent grilled shrimps, braised lamb shank infused with fennel and garlic tastes heavenly. You can also pound fennel, celery, olive oil, boiled potatoes and garlic to create a vegetarian brandade. You can use it lightly grilled in salads, even dice it and stuff fresh fish before pan-frying. Indians who have millennia’s worth experience with fennel claim it to be an aphrodisiac and digestive at the same time.

Toronto, being the largest “Italian city” outside of Italy, identifies with fennel. Supermarkets routinely carry finocchio, or Florence fennel. Italians bake or braise it as an accompaniment to fish, meat and pork dishes.  But the fennel tends to go best with fish. You can also use it diced in salads for an extra taste dimension.

Comments

[Palma]

Pretty damn close. The only difference is my dressing: orange juice, red wine vinegar, a drop of olive oil, and a spoon of honey, salt and pepper!

[Jerry]

Now I shall have to try the salad - part 2. I foprgot to mention that it was also an excuse for a new kitchen tool - mandoline! Any excuse for a new kitchen tool I say.

[Brad'll Do It]

I commend your restraint on the photo contest, and thank you for the insights into fennel. I never thought of Toronto as Italian....

[Kalyn]

I have some fennel growing in my garden, but it's too small to use yet. This looks like a delicious salad, love the combination.

[Jerry]

Brad - I can show restraint once in awhile - don't expect it too often though.

Kalyn - I've never seen it growing - pics, we need pics! LOL The orange really picked up the citrus nature of the fennel.