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- Radicchio, fennel and blood orange salad
Radicchio, fennel and blood orange salad
- Rosie Birkett
Published: February 15, 2022 at 10:15 AM
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Serves 2-4 as a starter or side
Easy
Total time: 20 mins
0 reviews
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Celebrate jewel-like blood oranges, fragrant fennel and bitter radicchio in this vibrant salad, sure to add some joy to your February dinner table
Gluten free
Vegetarian
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Throw together this radicchio, fennel and blood orange salad, then check out our simple chopped salad, fennel salad, beetroot, orange and feta salad and more vegetarian salad recipes. We've also got more seasonal fennel recipes and blood orange recipes.
Cook’s tip: Boost your plant points
"This seasonal beauty is packed with over 8 plant points thanks to the addition of a tin of butterbeans. Enjoy juicy seasonal blood oranges with crisp radicchio, aniseed-y fennel, pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios."
Note these changes to the recipe will alter the nutritional information displayed.
Here are more ways to boost your plant points and plant-packed recipes.
Recipe author, Rosie says: "Last month, I wrote all about the comforting things we can cook to get us through the bleakness of January, sharing an indulgent recipe for my boozy bread and butter pudding. But February, for me, always feels like a more realistic and appropriate time to be digging into gorgeous winter salads and celebrating the deep colours and pronounced flavours of the produce available to us at this time of year. The word February actually comes from the Latin word februa, meaning ‘to cleanse’. It was named after the Roman Februalia, a month-long festival of purification and atonement, though it had more to do with offering sacrifices to the gods than enjoying some swanky farmers’ market haul.
There’s certainly something bordering on ethereal and definitely something cleansing about the beautiful, vivid ingredients on offer at the moment, and none more so than the bitter leaves and blood oranges that have inspired this simple but delicious salad, opposite. Both are ingredients I make a beeline for this month, usually sourcing them from my local greengrocer or Natoora, which now delivers nationwide and offers a wonderful array of carefully sourced fresh produce from passionate farmers who, in the case of its radicchio growers, work with heirloom varieties and saved seeds (find out more at natoora.com). I adore the pretty pink radicchio, which looks more like an award-winning rose than a salad, and is especially lovely for Valentine’s Day dinners.
As are the blood oranges, with their crimson flesh and distinctively sweet-sharp juice that becomes the basis for so many culinary delights for me at this time of year. I love buying a whole crate or box of them to use in anything from morning juices (or evening cocktails) to fish dishes and meaty braises. But a salad with fennel and bitter leaves is one of the purest ways to celebrate this flamboyant citrus. We are well and truly out of beige food territory with these ingredients, and I feel like there’s something seriously optimistic about putting together dishes that not only taste great but make you smile just to look at them – a real precursor of things to come and a reminder that spring is really just around the corner.
I’ve kept my recipe plant-based but you can of course crumble over some feta or top with fried halloumi to bulk it out, if you like. As it is, it makes an elegant starter or side for the table. I sometimes add a handful of spicy Perelló olives for a chilli-hot kick, too."
Ingredients
Nutrition
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1 long shallot
peeled and finely chopped
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1 tbsp white wine vinegar
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2 blood oranges
1 zested and juiced, 1 peeled and segmented
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2 tsp runny honey
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½ tsp Dijon mustard
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3 tbsp groundnut, rapeseed or olive oil
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½ a bulb with fronds fennel
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1 small head radicchio or pink chicory
leaves picked, rinsed and dried, and any large ones torn
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a handful flat-leaf parsley or mint
leaves picked
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2 tbsp toasted pistachios or roasted almonds
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½ tsp pomegranate
seeds scooped out
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sumac
for sprinkling
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal195
- fat12.4g
- saturates2.1g
- carbs13.8g
- sugars12g
- fibre5.9g
- protein4g
- salt0.1g
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Method
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step 1
Combine the shallot and vinegar in a bowl or jam jar with a pinch of salt and set aside for a few minutes. Add the blood orange zest and juice, the honey, mustard and oil, and whisk or shake to combine and emulsify. If the vinaigrette seems too thick, add 1 tbsp of water – it should be just thick enough to coat the leaves. Taste for seasoning and set aside. It will keep for a few hours at room temperature.
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step 2
Remove the fennel’s woody core, then finely slice the bulb and any fronds. Tip into a large bowl with a pinch of sea salt and drizzle with a splash of the dressing to coat. Add the blood orange segments and toss with your hands, then add the radicchio or chicory and parsley or mint. Drizzle over enough of the dressing to coat everything lightly, then toss together to combine. Pile the salad onto individual serving plates or a large platter. Scatter over the nuts and pomegranate seeds, then sprinkle with sumac before serving.
Discover more vegetarian salad recipes
Authors
Rosie Birkett
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