One of the few bright spots in the dead of winter is the ever-so-brief blood orange season. Aside from the fact that they're wonderfully pretty to look at, the sweet-tangy citrus is a perfect antidote to the February blahs. It may be grey and cold outside, but these sunny orange spheres help make me feel a little sunnier and warmer on the inside.
Lucky for me, I happened to score an incredibly good deal on blood oranges this year at the neighbourhood greengrocer (where I tend to find incredibly good deals on just about everything... I'm spoiled like that). A whopping $2 bought me enough oranges to make a batch of marmalade and still have some left over for salad.
This salad makes the most of your blood oranges by showing off their gorgeous colour and fresh flavour, and is the perfect accompaniment to a simply seasoned grilled fish or chicken. I like to use a mix of regular oranges and blood oranges, but it's quite lovely done with just regular oranges as well (or just blood oranges, if you're feeling downright decadent).
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Orange, Olive and Fennel Salad
1 blood orange
1 navel orange
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (reserve fronds for garnish)
1 cup oil-cured black olives
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Using a sharp knife, supreme the oranges by removing the peel and pith, and then slicing away each segment from the membranes (here's a tutorial on YouTube).
In a large bowl, combine the orange segments, fennel and olives. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange prettily on serving plates and garnish with reserved fennel fronds.
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