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Hot food: Fennel and orange salad

Fresh, tart and in-season, this crunchy little number is a restaurant favourite.

Jill Dupleix
Jill Dupleix

Fennel and orange salad: This crunchy, tangy combo is the definitive winter salad.
Fennel and orange salad: This crunchy, tangy combo is the definitive winter salad.Peter Rae

What is it?

Crisp, shaved fennel tossed with sliced or segmented oranges in a gutsy, citrussy vinaigrette has been a popular salad in Italy since ancient Rome, and long a staple of our Italian restaurants. Now, it's popping up on all manner of contemporary menus as well. With both ingredients in peak season, this crunchy, tangy combo is the definitive winter salad.

Where is it?

At Melbourne's neighbourhood Middle Eastern cafe Kamel, head chef Naveen Kumar teams finely sliced fennel, orange segments, kalamata olives and an orange juice reduction with roasted pork belly and an intense parsley, garlic and fennel seed sauce. ''I love the flavour and crunchy freshness of fennel with pork,'' says co-owner Mindy Dunn. ''It's such a wonderful marriage with the sweetness of the oranges.''

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Perched high above Sydney's Whale Beach at Jonah's, chef Peter Ridland offers a fennel, orange, rocket and walnut salad in a sweetly acidic orange dressing as a salad on the side. ''It's the freshness that people love,'' he says. ''If you're having a rich meal, it really cuts through.'' His tip is to finely shave the fennel and toss it straight into a bowl of iced water. ''Everyone says to toss it in lemon juice to avoid it browning, but that breaks down the structure and softens it. Iced water crisps it up instead.''

Why do I care?

Because it's so brilliant with ocean

trout, smoked salmon, chicken, lamb or nutty, wholegrain salads.

Can I do it at home?

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Easy. Just don't dress it too far ahead or the fennel sort of dies.

Fennel, orange and walnut salad

1 orange

2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed

2 small pink radishes, sliced

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2 tbsp unpitted mixed olives

½ cup of rocket, or watercress leaves

2 tbsp mint leaves

2 tbsp dill, or fennel fronds

2 tbsp roughly chopped walnuts, toasted

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half cup fresh pomegranate seeds, optional

DRESSING

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp orange juice

1 tsp dijon mustard

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sea salt

pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Using a small, sharp knife, peel the orange over a bowl, removing the white pith and skin, saving any juice.

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Cut out each segment, then squeeze remaining juice from the rest of the orange.

2. To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice with 3 tbsp of the orange juice, mustard, sea salt, pepper, cumin and olive oil until smooth.

3. Shave the fennel as finely as you can lengthways (a mandolin or slicer is good for this), and toss the fennel in the dressing with the orange segments, radish, olives, rocket (or watercress), mint and dill (or fennel fronds).

4. Place on dinner plates and scatter with walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with any remaining dressing and serve.

Serves 4

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Sourcing

NSW

Jonah's

69 Bynya Road, Whale Beach, 02 9974 5599, jonahs.com.au

VIC

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Kamel

19 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park, 03 9696 1386, kamelrestaurant.com

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Jill DupleixJill Dupleix is a Good Food contributor and reviewer who writes the Know-How column.

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