Fennel and Orange Salad

I’ve been eyeing the giant, beautiful fennel at the verduleria lately, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Finally, I went tonight, with nothing in mind, and walked out with some fennel.

I decided to try a version of this salad, from VeganEpicurean, since I also had some beautiful oranges. However, I had no red onion and wanted to try a more authentic version before trying her cleaned up version. So, I chose this recipe, swapping out the arugula for spinach, which I had on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch arugula
• 2 orange, peeled and segmented
• 1 bulb fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives

Directions

1. Whisk together the honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper; slowly add the olive oil while continuing to whisk.
2. Place the arugula in the bottom of a salad bowl; scatter the orange segments, fennel slices, and olives over the arugula; drizzle the dressing over the salad to serve.

Comments: Overall, this was good. I shy away from making salads at home because they always seem to have a zillion ingredients which are leftover, when making a single portion. I halved the recipe, and had no problem eating it as one (large) serving.

However, I found it a bit sweet and simple. I think I’ll swap the lemon juice for red wine vinegar next time, and leave out the honey.