My daughter loves a fennel and orange salad with fennel’s crunchy texture and sweet orange slices. Fennel and orange salads are regional Sicilian cuisine, a salad of contrasts, offering sour and sweet, soft and crunchy. Obviously, for the salad to be a flavour success, choose the freshest produce. I love the salad’s vibrant colour, it’s a cheerful addition to a winter meal.

Health benefits:

·       Fennel is highly prized for its licorice-like flavour and its health benefits. It’s been used in natural remedies since ancient times. Originally cultivated in the Mediterranean, fennel was popular in Greek and Italian dishes, but now is used around the world.

·       Fennel gives relief from anemia, indigestion, flatulence, constipation, colic, diarrhea, respiratory disorders, menstral disorders and helps in eye care. It’s also used in mouth fresheners, toothpastes and desserts.

FENNEL & ORANGE SALAD

PB, V

1 fennel bulb

2 oranges

1 orange for juice

½ cup (65 g) black olives, pitted

extra virgin olive oil

fennel seeds

few delicate fronds of fennel

Clean the fennel, removing the stems and toughest, stringy outer leaves and rinse well and quarter. Dry and slice thinly, and lay the fennel on a platter. Use a sharp knife to remove the peel and bitter white pith: the membrane and all the filaments covering the oranges. Cut the orange into segments (supreme) and place on the platter with the fennel. Drizzle with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and squeeze the juice of an orange over the salad. Add black olives and a sprinkle of fennel seeds. Garnish with a few delicate fennel fronds.