Orange and Fennel Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Super fresh and light winter citrus salad that will make you feel like its spring!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
2 oranges (blood orange, cara cara, navel) + zest
1 fennel bulb + fronds
2 Persian cucumbers
1 bag of mixed greens or spring mix
1 egg yolk
¼ cup champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar works)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Optional shaved parmesan
Start by peeling your citrus. Use a sharp knife and cut off the top and bottom of your orange. Then stand it up so it is on a flat base. Begin to slice off the peel revealing the juicy flesh. Make sure to remove as much of the white bitter pith and skin as you can. Once you have peeled your citrus, slice the oranges into rounds and set aside.
Have a salad spinner ready. If you do not have a spinner, use a bowl. Take your bulb of fennel and cut off the stalks. Pick the fronds off the stalks and place in your spinner basket. Discard the stalks or save for veg stock. Take the bulb of fennel and slice it into quarters from top to bottom. So you have 4 lengthwise quarters. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the fennel lengthwise into super thin shavings. Keeping the root of the fennel attached will keep all the layers of the fennel intact. If you don’t have a mandoline use a very sharp knife and slice as thin as you can. It is ok if there are random pieces of fennel that aren't complete quarters, it doesn’t need to be perfect. Place the fennel and fronds in the salad spinner and fill with ice cold water. Thinly slice your cucumbers into rounds and add into the spinner as well. Let sit in the ice cold water for a few minutes until everything is super crisp and the fennel squiggles up a bit. This process is called shocking your vegetables. Drain water and spin dry. Or alternatively, drain water and pat dry with towels.
For the dressing, in a food processor, add in your champagne vinegar, egg yolk and citrus zest. Blend for about 30 seconds. Start blending and very slowly drizzle in your olive oil until you have a cohesive mixture. You will use about a ½ cup of olive oil. But have a little extra in case you need to adjust. The dressing should thinly coat the back of a spoon and hold when you run your finger down the spoon. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. This process can be done in a bowl with a whisk by hand!
Lay out the mixed greens, fennel, fronds and cucumber on a platter. Tuck in the orange slices all throughout the greens. Arrange on the platter so that everything is evenly distributed. Finish with a good drizzle of the dressing and cracked black pepper. Optionally shave some parmesan over top. And it is ready to serve!
