Nitrate & Nitrite Free Fennel-Orange Salad
Bright, refreshing, and built entirely from whole, unprocessed ingredients, this fennel and orange salad is the kind of dish that looks like it came from a restaurant but comes together in your own kitchen with almost no effort. For anyone navigating a diet free from cured or preserved foods, salads like this are a natural win — every component here is fresh, whole, and clean, from the shaved fennel to the hand-segmented citrus. The technique of soaking the fennel in ice water is a small but brilliant step that transforms it into delicate, curling ribbons with a satisfying crunch. Castelvetrano olives bring a buttery, mild richness that plays beautifully against the sweet orange segments and the sharp bite of thinly sliced red onion. The dressing is whisked together from olive oil, fresh citrus juice, honey, and a pinch of red pepper flakes — nothing processed, nothing hidden, just real flavor. A finish of flat-leaf parsley, torn fennel fronds, and optional shaved Parmesan makes the whole platter look genuinely stunning. This is the salad you bring to a dinner party and watch disappear first.
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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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