This Italian fennel salad with orange, grapefruit and pistachios is an easy recipe you need to try. It’s a twist on the classic Sicilian orange salad, also known in Italy as “insalata di arance”. It’s light, refreshing and ready in just 10 minutes. This salad is a true winner and works all year round.
Fennel is part of the carrot family and has a distinct, sweet anise, almost like a liquorice flavour. It’s a white bulb made up of layered sections. It’s crunchy (when not cooked) and tastewise quite similar to celery.
How to Cut Fennel for Salad
Use a mandoline for very thin slices, or do it like I do and finely chop it with a knife. Fennel has a fairly strong flavour, so I recommend cutting it into thin slices to keep it from overpowering each bite. The thinner, the better.
Fronds
I used for this recipe fennel fronds as a garnish. These are the thin, delicate sprigs at the top of the bulb that look a bit like dill.
They are often removed during harvesting because they can dry out the fennel and reduce its shelf life. It also makes the fennel easier to transport and store when they are chopped off.
Use dill as an alternative ff your fennel doesn’t come with fronds and you still want that fresh, delicate garnish.
In this video you can see exactly how I cut fennel:
Plating
I plated the salad flat on a plate, similar to a caprese salad. But it also works really well in a bowl.
If you serve it in a bowl, I recommend cutting the citrus into quarters or half-moons instead of slices, like I did for the plated version.
This salad is perfect as a starter for an Italian themed dinner or as a side at your next summer BBQ. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Fennel Salad
Adjust servings here:
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 2 oranges
- 1 grapefruit
- kosher salt
- 30 grams pistachio nuts
VINAIGRETTE
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Wash the fennel bulbs and slice them in half. Remove the core and trim the ends. Keep the fennel fronds.
- Cut each half into quarters, then slice the quarters as thinly as possible. Add the sliced fennel to a bowl.
- Prepare the vinaigrette. Add to a bowl the juice of a lemon, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour it over the fennel slices, mix well and set aside.
- Peel the orange and grapefruit, then cut them into thick slices.
- Chop the pistachios into small chunks.
- Arrange 2/3 of the orange and grapefruit slices on a plate. Add the sliced fennel on top, followed by the remaining citrus slices. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the salad.
- Add a pinch of kosher salt and garnish with fennel fronds.
Enjoy!
