Artificial Food Coloring Free Basil-Pesto Fennel & Orange Salad
This salad is a bright, refreshing combination of shaved fennel and juicy orange segments, all brought together by a vivid homemade pesto that's as bold as it is beautiful. Every component is made from scratch using whole, recognizable ingredients — fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and a splash of orange juice — so there's no guesswork about what's actually in your food. Store-bought dressings and condiments are some of the sneakiest sources of synthetic dyes, often hiding behind vague "color added" labels, but this pesto gets its gorgeous green hue entirely from packed basil leaves and a pinch of ground turmeric. The tigernut flour gives the pesto a subtle body and nuttiness without weighing it down, and the apple cider vinegar adds just enough tang to balance the sweetness of the citrus. Shaving the fennel paper-thin is the move here — it softens the anise edge and lets the pesto cling to every slice. Finished with torn mint and reserved fennel fronds, this dish looks like something you'd order at a nice restaurant, but it comes together with a food processor and a sharp knife.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 2 medium fennel bulbs, fronds reserved
- 2 large navel oranges
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ¼ cup tigernut flour
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh fennel fronds, roughly chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Trim the fennel bulbs, removing the stalks and any tough outer layers. Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, shave the fennel crosswise into very thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- 2
Cut the tops and bottoms off both oranges, then stand each orange upright and slice away the peel and white pith following the curve of the fruit. Working over a small bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to release the segments. Squeeze the spent membranes to extract any remaining juice; reserve 1 tbsp of this juice for the pesto.
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