A refreshing blood orange and fennel salad of healthy greens combined with avocado, mint, radish, parmesan cheese, and walnuts topped with a citrus vinaigrette.
As we ease into spring, it’s time to welcome new fruits and vegetables. I particularly look forward to vibrant and juicy blood oranges. The beautiful magenta color inspires me to create this blood orange and fennel salad to celebrate all of the fresh ingredients of the season. The crunchy vegetables, sweet oranges, licorice flavors, and delicious cheese makes for a light and healthy salad!
When choosing salad greens, I like a blend of tender baby kale and spinach, and red leaf lettuce. They all have different nutrients to collectively provide fiber, iron, and vitamins like K and A, and antioxidants. I added fresh mint for extra aromatics which gives a surprising burst of flavor.
I couldn’t resist adding fresh shaved fennel to give the salad a delicate licorice taste. The fennel is a perfect compliment to the sweetness of the oranges and cooling sensation from the mint. Avocado and walnuts add a nice creaminess to the salad. Just a little bit of sliced radish provides a peppery note to each bite.
What is an emulsion?
When making homemade vinaigrette or dressings, it’s important to understand emulsions. We all know that oil and water do not mix. This occurrence is because oil is hydrophobic (does not like water) and water is hydrophilic (likes water), so they repel each other. How do you get these two natural enemies combined? Force!
In this case, mixing with a whisk when gradually adding oil to the vinegar. This action helps break the oil into smaller droplets creating oil in water emulsion. The only downside is that this mixture is often semi-permanent and eventually the oil droplets will find each other and recombine. No worries, just whisk the dressing again right before serving.
For the citrus vinaigrette in this recipe, the juice from the blood orange, red wine vinegar, honey, shallots, and olive oil are combined by vigorously whisking. Honey is a natural emulsifier, helping the vinaigrette stay thickened and mixed a little longer.
Spring-inspired ingredients gives this blood orange fennel salad a pop of color! The tender greens, seasonal fruits, and vegetables plus a simple homemade orange dressing creates an edible garden in your bowl. What are your favorite springtime foods?
What is an emulsifier?
Sometimes you need the right “friend” that can bring two opposing things together. An emulsifier is a molecule with one oil-friendly and one water-friendly end. This allows the emulsifier to join the oil and water-based ingredients into an emulsion. Some natural emulsifiers that I like to use in my cooking are egg yolks (for mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce), and honey or mustard for salad dressings. Using these ingredients not only gives extra flavor but keeps my food emulsions together longer!
Fennel Salad with Blood Oranges
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups baby kale
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 3 cups red leaf lettuce
- 1 tablespoon mint, thinly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced horizontally to the root
- ½ avocado, thinly sliced
- 4 radish, thinly sliced
- 2 blood oranges, peeled, segmented slices, juice squeezed and reserved from leftover pulp
- 1 Navel orange, peeled, segmented slices
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shaved
Instructions
- In a large bowl, gently combine kale, spinach, lettuce, and mint. Top with fennel, avocado, radish, blood orange, navel orange, walnuts, and parmesan cheese.
- Combine honey, blood orange juice, vinegar, and shallots in a medium bowl. Gradually add the olive oil and whisk, until incorporated into the vinegar mixture, creating an emulsion (thickened dressing). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve salad with vinaigrette.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Lynn Chen says
love your blog! just went to orange for the first time recently (to eat waffle sandwiches at bruxie) but did not check out the farmer’s market.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you Lynn! I’m a big fan of Bruxie too, my favorite is the green eggs and ham! Next time swing by the farmer’s market if you get the chance, its saturdays 9-1 🙂
Judy says
Hi Jessica,
I’ve never had a blood orange and have wondered if they taste similar to a regular orange. Looking forward too trying the salad. Healthy AND beautiful. That should be the name of your first cookbook.
?Thank you for another gorgeous dish
Judy
Jessica Gavin says
You must try Judy! They have are less acidic but not as sweet as navel oranges. Beautiful color! You are the sweetest, your comments always make my day 🙂
Judy Caywood says
Oh I wanted to add I thought the Helvetica font for the title was so pretty.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you so much Judy!
Amy says
I’ve never try blood orange!! Are they similar to grapefruits? This salad looks so refreshing! Too pretty to be eaten 🙂 Your recipes are always incredible Jessica! Must go on a hunt for blood oranges now 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Amy! Blood oranges aren’t very tart, so they taste like regular oranges, just not as sweet and tangy. Thank you so for much for the sweet compliment, I can’t wait to hear what you think!