I am a big fan of buying veggies on impulse and then trying to figure what to do with them. Fennel for me was one of those purchases. I am constantly trying to “eat all the veggies” and rotate foods so we don’t get stagnant.  When I purchased fennel, I was afraid.  I am not a fan of dried fennel and even the smell of black liquorice makes me cringe. Luckily my husband and daughter will try most things I put in front of them, so I knew it wouldn’t go to waste.  I have to tell you though, I am converted. Everyone in my house loves this. It is paired with citrus and spicy arugula for a literal party in your mouth. This is a flavour packed salad that you can throw together in a few minutes if you have roasted the fennel in advance.  I sometimes double batch it so we can use some as a side dish one night and the rest for this salad another night or as a lunch option. You can eat fennel raw in a salad if you are into that whole black liquorice taste as well.   Fennel is great for your digestion and is very high in minerals which provides countless health benefits.

Ingredients:

• Citrus Vinaigrette:
• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Salad:

• 1 large fennel
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 large navel oranges (I used two blood oranges because they were in my farm share).
• 4 cups arugula

Instructions:

Citrus Vinaigrette:
For the salad dressing I use the “everyone in the pool” method.  I put all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake. Boom – salad dressing!  And if there are leftovers, it is already in a storage container so it is dirty dishes win!

Salad:
Wash the arugula and set aside.
For the oranges, if you have time and ambition you can “supreme” them. This removes some of the nutrition as there is so much value in the pith and skin etc.  Yes, it doesn’t look as pretty, but it wastes less, and saves time and still tastes amazing.

Roasted Fennel:
Preheat oven to 425F
For this you want the big white bulb part of the fennel. Chop the stocks and the root nub at the bottom off because you won’t need them for this recipe.  Chop the fennel to equal sized pieces, about ½ inch thick. Coat the cut pieces with avocado oil.  (For high heat cooking don’t use olive oil because the smoke point of olive oil is 350 degrees and the oil will go rancid if heated above that.)  Add sea salt and pepper to taste.  Lay your coated pieces of fennel on a parchment -lined baking sheet and place in the oven.  After 15 min turn the fennel pieces over and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until they golden brown.

Assemble:
I like my fennel room temp in the salad.
Assemble your salad, dress arugula and plate.  Garnish with fennel and orange pieces.

Sometimes I make this fennel recipe just as a side dish served alone. If I was making it as the side, I would add garlic powder while roasting and add fresh tarragon to finish.