Mustard Free Fennel-Orange Salad
Bright, refreshing, and built entirely from whole ingredients, this salad is the kind of dish that looks like it came from a restaurant but comes together with minimal effort in your own kitchen. Shaving the fennel thin and soaking it in ice water is a small step that makes a big difference — the slices curl up, crisp beautifully, and lose any harsh edge, leaving behind a delicate anise sweetness that plays perfectly against juicy orange segments. Castelvetrano olives add a buttery, briny punch, while the thinly sliced red onion gives just enough bite to keep things interesting. The dressing is a simple emulsion of olive oil, fresh citrus juice, honey, and a pinch of red pepper flakes — no packaged condiments, no hidden ingredients to second-guess. For anyone navigating a mustard sensitivity, that matters more than it might seem; so many store-bought vinaigrettes and even restaurant dressings sneak in mustard powder or prepared mustard as an emulsifier. Here, the dressing thickens naturally from the whisking and the honey, so you get that silky, cohesive coating without it. Finish with torn parsley, feathery fennel fronds, and a shower of shaved Parmesan if you like, and serve it immediately while everything is still vibrant and crisp.
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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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