Recipe

Apple and Fennel Salad with Blood Oranges, Feta, Mint Chiffonade and Honeyed Walnuts

Photo by ChezSuzanne

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dish with Blood Oranges, Feta and Mint
Chef
ChezSuzanne's Notes: Confession: I've never bought nor cooked with blood oranges. I don't even know if I've eaten one, except I had a blood orange vodka once, but that's another story. I always wondered, "Are...
Confession: I've never bought nor cooked with blood oranges. I don't even know if I've eaten one, except I had a blood orange vodka once, but that's another story. I always wondered, "Are they really that different from other oranges"? The answer is, of course, yes. And what a difference! In my experimenting, I found that I really liked the combination of these 5 flavors: apple, fennel, blood oranges, feta cheese and mint. I first tried a simple saute. It was good, but needed some 'punching up' of the flavor. The blood orange became too muted from the heat, and the flavors all went together a little too well with nothing really standing out. So I tried a salad and found what I was looking for. It's a simple composed salad with each flavor really standing out individually but also playing together quite well - especially the blood orange. I used a small mandolin slicer to thinly slice the fennel, apple and red onion. The walnuts are optional, and I didn't do it for mine due to my allergy to nuts, but others loved the addition.

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1 Granny Smith (or other tart) apple, peeled, cored, thinly sliced Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup honey glazed walnuts (see below instructions for how to make these) Ask a question about this ingredient

To make the honey-glazed walnuts, preheat the oven to 350F. Place the walnuts on a foil lined cookie sheet and pour 2 tablespoons of honey over them. Toss lightly to coat them and separate on the sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the foil and set aside to cool.
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Make the dressing - the recipe follows this.
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Combine all ingredients and toss with salad dressing and serve.
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