Guest writer: Pamela Walker, writer and local farm and food activist (www.GrowingGoodThingsToEat.com)
I recently bought some beautiful fennel from Malandro Farm, and found mint and red onions from other vendors, and made this salad, one of my all-time favorites. Instead of navel oranges, I sometimes use clementines. I love the textures and flavors this salad delivers.
Minted Orange, Fennel and Red Onion Salad
From Epicurious.com and Health.com
Ingredients:
For dressing:
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
For salad:
1 medium-large red onion
1 large fennel bulb (sometimes called anise, about 1 pound)
3 large navel oranges
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
Preparation:
- Heat a dry small heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast coriander seeds, stirring, until fragrant and a little darker, about 2 minutes.
- With a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder or cleaned electric coffee grinder, grind coriander to a coarse powder.
- In a bowl, whisk together coriander and remaining dressing ingredients. Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered
- With a Japanese rotary slicer or other thin-slicing device, slice onion crosswise into thin spirals or rings.
- In a bowl of ice and cold water, soak onion (separate rings if necessary) 15 minutes.
- Trim stalks from fennel and with slicing device, thinly slice fennel bulb crosswise.
- With a sharp knife, cut a slice from top and bottom of each orange to expose flesh and arrange cut side down on a cutting board. cutting from top to bottom, remove peel and pith.
- Cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
- Drain onion well and pat dry between paper towels.
- Arrange fennel, onion and orange decoratively on a platter and scatter with mint.
- Whisk dressing and drizzle over salad.