My husband loves to entertain and we often have dinner guests for Saturday night. It’s become more casual over the years, and our guests occasionally cook with us. This Saturday was full of errands, engagements and chores. Four o’clock was approaching, and I hadn’t exercised yet, and our guests would be arriving by 5:15 -so I texted our friends to pack their sneakers and dress casually. The ladies took a long fast walk before dinner. It was lovely! We came back welcomed with wine poured and ready for consumption. We enjoyed the Landmark Vineyards Overlook Pinot Noir Vintage while cooking and the hints of candied orange zest complimented the blood orange salad perfectly!
Living in southern California, I get to grow a variety of foods, including blueberries. We picked fresh Meyer’s lemons from my hybrid citrus tree and juiced them to accompany the arugula and shaved parmesan salad. We also harvested fennel from our garden boxes and blood oranges from our dwarf citrus tree. Using fresh ingredients that are just picked adds the most amazing flavor. This is our friend Rich’s nonna’s recipe – it’s so versatile. You can eat it by itself, served on top of fish or meat, or with grains. His nonna put it on top of cooked oats growing up. We keep growing fennel because each time our Italian friend visits, we find new ways to enjoy it! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do – it’s now one of my favorite salads!
Ingredients :
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 naval or valencia oranges
- shaved fennel bulb (or slice thinly)
- slivered almonds or crushed pistachios
- dried cranberry, blueberries, fresh pomegranate seeds or sliced strawberries
- accent with fennel leaves
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon of aged Calimyrna fig vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons of seasoned rice wine vinegar (per your taste preference)
- 3 Tablespoons of organic canola oil or safflower oil
- pinch of sugar
- optional for kick 1/4 teaspoon of chile oil
