Insalata di Arancie, Finocchi, ed Olive Nere: Orange, Fennel, and Black Olive Salad

In Sicily, oranges and olives are grown everywhere. This salad which also uses fennel, blends together very well and is a great example of the Sicilian pairing of “sweet and sour”.

Orange, Fennel and Black Olive Salad

Recipe for 4.

Ingredients and equipment:

• 2 male fennel bulbs (see Note)
• 3 oranges (blood oranges if you can find them)
• ¼ cup of black pitted Sicilian olives (if you buy find olives with pits, see below)
• Olive oil
• Parsley
• Red-wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Note: There are two types of fennel bulbs: male and female. The male bulbs are more rounded where the female bulbs are smaller and shaped like a flat oval.

Note: Pitting an olive is easy. On a cutting board, use a chef’s knife and roll the olive between the knife and cutting board and press down. This will release the pit.

Directions:

Remove the fronds and the green part from the fennel bulbs. Thinly slice the fennel bulbs and place in a bowl. Coarsely chop the fennel fronds and set aside.

After removing pits, chop the olives into very rough pieces and place in a bowl.

Remove the peel from the oranges as shown below. Then slice the oranges into slices and remove any seeds.

On a serving plate or individual plates, arrange the oranges slices. Then top the oranges with a small pile of sliced fennel and then top with the olives.

Sprinkle with a small amount of parsley and the fennel fronds and drizzle with olive oil and a splash of red-wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.