Winter Salad with Fennel and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Even though it may be winter, you can still eat the colors of the rainbow and give yourself a hearty dose of powerful phytonutrients! Consuming these deep red, magenta, and orange colors you see in this salad means that you are flooding your body with plant chemicals that prevent DNA damage, stimulate the immune system, reduce inflammation, block substances we ingest from becoming carcinogens, and of course mop up free radicals. In fact, I should rename this salad to The Anti-Cancer Salad! My children even love this salad (minus the red onions). I came downstairs yesterday morning to find that they had all packed a container of it their school lunches (along with chicken-vegetable soup or turkey black bean chili)!
If you haven't worked with fennel before then you are in for a treat. This delicious vegetable adds complex flavors to this salad. I love eating it raw but it's also delicious braised or roasted! I like to add it to fresh juices, in fact, since this recipe only uses the bulb, you can save the stalks to make green juice (combine green apple, parsley, kale, lemons, and fennel stalks for a delicious elixir). If you need some visual assistance in cutting up fennel then check out the tutorial I prepared for you at the bottom of this post.
One more note on the ingredients here….this recipe calls for either chopped or segmented blood oranges. To chop them you just peel, slice, and then chop into pieces. To segment, you need to peel them and then cut into wedges around the membranes. I like to use a small serrate knife to do this. It's really very easy but if you've never done it before it can seem daunting. Food52 has a great, short video on doing this that I suggest watching for guidance if you need it. You can view it here.
Winter Salad with Fennel and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Serve this anti-inflammatory salad with baked wild salmon and roasted winter squash, or a lamb and root vegetable stew. If you can’t find blood oranges, you can replace them with navel oranges. You will need about 4 blood oranges total for the salad and dressing. If red onions are too strong for you then use 4 to 5 thinly sliced green onions.
When purchasing almonds, be sure to buy organic. All almonds now sold in the US (unless you are buying direct from a farmer) need to be pasteurized. Non-organic almonds are typically chemically-treated and organic almonds will be heat-treated (so they actually are not raw anymore).
Salad
Dressing
Roasted Almonds:
- To roast almonds, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the raw almonds into a glass pie plate or baking dish.
- Roast for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before chopping.
How to Cut Fennel:
- Cut off the stalks (save them for juicing).
- Trim the bottom (the root end).
- Cut the fennel bulb in half lengthwise.
- Cut out the core by making 2 cuts in the shape of triangle.
- Slice the first half of the fennel lengthwise.
- Repeat with the other half. Now you are ready to use it!
Salad:
- Place the red cabbage, fennel, carrots, red onion, blood oranges, and parsley into a large bowl.
- If you are planning on serving the salad right away then add the almonds too.
- If you would like to extend the salad over a few days then sprinkle the almonds over what you plan on serving (otherwise they get soft and lose their crunch when sitting in the dressing).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- Pour over the salad and toss together; serve.
- Leftovers can be stored in a glass container in your refrigerator for about 3 days.
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About the Author
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN, is the founder of Nourishing Meals®, an online meal-planning membership with over 1,800 nourishing recipes and tools to support dietary change and better health. As a functional nutritionist, professional recipe developer, and author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Nourishing Meals, and co-author of The Elimination Diet, she helps people overcome health challenges through food. A mother of five, Alissa understands the importance of creating nutrient-dense meals for the whole family. Rooted in science and deep nourishment, her work makes healthy eating accessible, empowering thousands to transform their well-being through food.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Hi - thanks for the delicious recipe. I might be overlooking this, but how many do you think this would serve? Looking to make this for six. Thanks!