Avocado, Orange and Fennel Salad 

This orange and fennel salad is a perfect winter salad when citrus and avocados are at their peak.  A combination of blood oranges, navel oranges, with salty pistachios and parmesan cheese provides an explosion of flavors in your mouth, not to mention a boost to immunity! 

Winter salads using seasonal ingredients like citrus, fennel and avocado are full of flavor and nutritional benefits.

The blood oranges are sweet and add a wonderful flavor combined with the navel oranges in this salad.

My in-laws live in Florida and my mother-in-law is always making a version of this salad with grapefruit from her tree - grapefruit segments with spinach and avocado, toasted almonds, and a fresh lemon dressing.  It's one of the favorites that we enjoy each time we visit.  It's really a reward for my husband as he spends hours picking the grapefruit from the tree.

You can supreme the oranges (cut out the segments without the pith), but that is rather time-consuming, so I like to cut the peel and pith off and slice the citrus into thin slices.

The salad is refreshing and delicious and you feel as if you are visiting a tropical destination in the middle of a Colorado winter when eating it.

A zingy lemon dijon vinaigrette and a topping of fresh julienned mint tie it all together.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of spinach
• 3 oranges, peeled, outer pith removed and thinly sliced
• 3 blood oranges peeled, outer pith removed and thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• roasted and salted pistachios shelled
• parmesan cheese shaved
• fresh mint, thinly sliced (chiffonade) for garnish

Lemon Dijon Dressing

• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil
• dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make a Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

Start by making the dressing.  The longer it sits, the better the flavors can combine.   Combine lemon juice, olive oil, grated garlic, salt, pepper and dijon mustard in a small bowl or mason jar.  Whisk or shake to mix thoroughly.

Cut and slice the orange segments, avocado, and thinly slice the fennel bulb.

Assemble the salad by layering the spinach on the bottom of an oval platter or round dish, top with sliced navel oranges and blood oranges, sliced avocado, sliced fennel, and the fresh mint.  Top with pistachios and shaved parmesan cheese.  Drizzle the dressing over the top just before serving.

If you are not serving right away - be sure to coat the avocados in olive oil or lemon juice to prevent oxidation, or wait to add the avocados right before serving.

 

 

If you want to add protein to the salad - you can certainly serve with quinoa or roasted salmon.