BHA & BHT Free Ginger-Lime Fennel & Orange Salad
Bright, refreshing, and full of texture, this shaved fennel and citrus salad is the kind of dish that makes you feel like you're eating somewhere sunny and warm. The fennel is sliced paper-thin so it turns tender and almost silky once it meets the dressing, while juicy orange segments add natural sweetness and a gorgeous pop of color. Fresh mint, a whisper of red onion, and optional cilantro keep every bite lively and aromatic. What makes this salad so well-suited to avoiding synthetic preservatives is that every single component is whole and unprocessed — there are no bottled dressings, no packaged shortcuts, and nothing hiding on an ingredient label. The dressing comes together from fresh lime juice, lime zest, grated ginger, raw honey, and extra-virgin olive oil, so you know exactly what you're eating. BHA and BHT are common in processed oils and pre-made condiments, and building the dressing from scratch here sidesteps all of that entirely. The ginger adds a gentle warmth that plays beautifully against the citrus, and the honey rounds out the acidity without tipping the whole thing into sweetness. It's elegant enough to serve at a dinner party but genuinely easy to pull together any night of the week.
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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
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, torn
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Trim the fennel bulbs: cut off the stalks and reserve a small handful of the feathery fronds. Halve each bulb through the root, then use a mandoline or a sharp knife to shave each half crosswise into very thin slices, about 1/16 inch thick. Place the shaved fennel in a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Cut the top and bottom off each orange, then stand each orange upright and slice away the peel and white pith following the curve of the fruit. Working over the bowl of fennel to catch any juice, cut between the membranes to release the segments. Squeeze the spent membranes over the bowl to extract any remaining juice, then discard the membranes.
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