L’été vient de commencer à San Francisco  - Salade de mâche, fenouil et oranges à la vinaigrette d’agrumes

fennelorangesaladweb

I was wondering why americans are not too fond of fennel and anis, liquorice, etc…Maybe it’s a flavor they were not used to growing up. I don’t know. The first time I tasted a mango, a Cambodian friend of mine had me try it, I must have been 12-13 years old, and I hated it. I thought it tasted like detergent powder and I had to spit it out. Well, years have passed, and luckily, my tastes have changed, and I love mango now! Funny how the palate that had not been exposed to something, reacts in an “unfriendly” way.

I remember one summer in Italy at the neighbor’s house, she served a salad of oranges as appetizer and I was somehow reluctant to eat it since I never ate oranges that way, but I thought that would be a great idea only  if this would taste good…and it did. The salad was fresh, with a nice peppery dressing. I loved it. I have seen a similar way to serve oranges in Moroccan cuisine, and I loved the idea.

Mâche salad is becoming trendy again, and besides from its pleasant flavor, it has lots of vitamin C, vitamin E, antioxydants and Omega 3! So a great nutritional little salad to be consumed without moderation.

Ingredients for 2

  • 1 juicy navel orange, sliced crosswise
  • 2 cups mâche
  • 1 fennel bulb, cut in small cubes
  • kalamata olives

For the vinaigrette

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp orange juice
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp raspberry vinegar
  • 1/3 tsp cumin powder
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash fennel, and cut in small cubes. You can cut the stems as well, it adds some nice color. Peel orange, and cut crosswise, cut off the border. Wash mâche.

For the vinaigrette, mix ingredients together. Add some vinaigrette to the mâche and mix well.

Place some salad at the bottom of the plate, top with fennel, and oranges. Add olives on top. Sprinkle with remaining vinaigrette.