Eggless Fennel-Orange Salad
This bright, refreshing salad is the kind of dish that makes you feel like you're eating at a sun-drenched Mediterranean bistro without leaving your kitchen. Shaved fennel soaks in ice water until it curls into delicate, crisp ribbons, then gets layered with juicy orange segments, paper-thin red onion, and buttery Castelvetrano olives for a combination that's equal parts elegant and effortless. The dressing comes together in seconds — just a whisk of good olive oil, fresh citrus juice, honey, and a pinch of red pepper flakes for a gentle kick. Everything about this recipe is naturally free of eggs, so there's no swapping or substituting required; the ingredients simply do the work on their own. Finished with torn parsley, wispy fennel fronds, and optional shaved Parmesan, it's as beautiful on the plate as it is on the palate. Serve it immediately so the fennel stays crisp and the citrus stays bright — this one doesn't like to wait.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 2 medium fennel bulbs, fronds reserved
- 3 medium navel oranges
- ¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup castelvetrano olives, pitted and roughly torn
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice (from one of the segmented oranges)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fennel fronds, roughly torn (optional)
- 1 oz shaved parmesan (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Trim the fennel bulbs: cut off the stalks and any tough outer layers, then halve each bulb through the root. Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, shave the fennel crosswise into very thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Place in a large bowl of ice water and let stand for 10 minutes, until the slices curl slightly and crisp up. Drain well and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
- 2
Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut the top and bottom off each orange, then stand each orange upright and slice away the peel and white pith from top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit. Hold the peeled orange over the bowl and cut between the membranes to release the segments, letting them fall into the bowl. Squeeze the spent membranes over the bowl to extract the juice, then measure out 2 tbsp of the juice for the dressing.
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