Fennel Orange Salad

Here’s a refreshing and easy side dish: Orange Salad with Fennel! It combines the juicy orange and the subtle liquorice essence of fennel with a citrus vinaigrette.

Ready to discover our (and your) new favorite salad? Orange salad with fennel! It features beautiful, juicy oranges with their vibrant color and citrus flavor. Added to this is a famous accord: chopped raw fennel, which adds a subtle essence of liquorice. Toss it over the veggies with some toppings, top with a zesty homemade citrus vinaigrette and wow! There are so many flavors and textures that this is one of the most surprisingly delicious salads we’ve ever made. Pair them with rich pastas like lasagna, mac and cheese, or pizza. Or salmon. Or… really everything! Here’s how to do it.

What’s in this Orange Fennel Salad?

Fennel and orange are a famous pairing in Mediterranean and Italian cuisine. You may have seen a Sicilian version, which is a large plate of oranges with sliced ​​fennel on top. Why are these flavors often associated? Well, the sweet citrus flavor of oranges goes well with the subtle black liquorice scent of raw fennel. It’s really a sensual experience. (Here is a great cake with this combination).

Alex and I designed this salad as a green salad with that familiar combination. This is what this orange and fennel salad contains:

• oranges: Use a mix of blood orange and cara cara for the best color and flavor contrasts. Using an ingenious technique, you will “supreme” the orange in sections (see below).
• Fennel: Grab a fennel bulb from the produce section! Learn more about fennel here. (PS It’s also fantastic fried as a side dish or in other fennel recipes.)
• Leafy vegetables: Use any type of young green you want! It’s good to have a mix to vary the texture and taste. If you use kale, arugula, or spinach, be sure to include other milder leafy greens or salads for contrast.
• Shallots & Pistachios: The shallot is a milder variant of the red onion: here it is thinly sliced ​​into rings. Crushed pistachios add a bit of crunch and texture.
• citrus dressing: Top it off with a homemade citrus vinaigrette.

Important: Do not cut the orange with your fingers!

OK, before we start! Don’t cut the oranges with your fingers and throw the pieces on them. This method is great for snacks, but not for salads. Why? Slicing the orange with your fingers leaves the pith intact, making it very difficult to eat with a knife and fork. There is a completely different method of cutting an orange for salads. It’s called…surprised.

Yes, it is true! There is an ingenious French way of slicing an orange for a salad called “cutting an orange into supremes”. The result is perfectly peeled, pithless pieces that are easy to eat! They’re delicious in salads like this Fennel Orange Salad or our Easy Citrus Salad.

How to Cut an Orange… into Points!

Here is the basic concept, which you can find on How to cut an orange:

• Step 1: Cut off the ends. Using a large chef’s knife, cut off both ends of the orange. Make sure you cut out all of the pulp and you can see some of the orange flesh.
• Step 2: Cut off the skin. Tilt your knife and follow the round shape of the orange to remove the skin. Be careful not to cut the flesh of the orange too much.
• Step 3: Cut a segment (inside the lines of the membrane). Cut directly into each membrane line to remove a segment. You don’t want to cut directly on the membrane, just inside it. Make both cuts at an angle and the segment comes out right away.

Top it off with a citrus vinaigrette!

The final part of this Orange Fennel Salad is a zesty citrus vinaigrette that seals the deal. Containing both orange and lemon but balanced, it makes the perfect dressing to elevate the salad to a ‘next level’ side dish. Here’s what it contains:

• orange juice + zest
• lemon juice
• Dijon mustard
• maple syrup
• olive oil

You’ll whisk together the first four ingredients, then whisk in the olive oil, tablespoon by tablespoon, until a creamy emulsion forms. It’s perfect for that salad or weeknight salads!

Want more dressings? Try our How to Make Healthy Salad Dressing.

What goes well with this orange and fennel salad? All.

This Orange Fennel Salad is so versatile it’s one of our favorite salad recipes! It’s up there in our Green Salad Hall of Fame, along with our Chopped Salad and Easy Arugula Salad. Here are some great recipes that would go well together:

This Orange Fennel Salad Recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free.