Sunshine Salad with Limoneira Oranges and Fennel

“If the family were a fruit it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable-each segment distinct”…Letty Cottin Pogrebin (American Journalist)
Oranges are my favorite way to ‘let a little sunshine in’ during the cold days of winter.  An easy way to bring sunny oranges to your winter table is this fresh salad containing fresh fennel and oranges. My favorite oranges are produced by Limoneira, for this recipe I used their lusciously sweet yet slightly tart navel oranges. And while you are eating this salad you may want to read about the interesting history of Limoneira. And it’s nice to know that these are oranges produced in the USA…..

Fennel Orange  Sunshine Salad
1 lb of fennel
1 tablespoon of raisins
2 fresh oranges
2 tblsps pine nuts
for the dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
 
Squeeze  1 orange. Place raisins in small dish and pour orange juice over raisins, let soak for 10 minutes. Peel  the other orange and cut into segments and set aside. Wash fennel and cut off hard green part on top, cut off hard part on bottom, Slice the heart of the fennel thinly using a mandolin. Cover with cold water. Set aside.
Place pine nuts in non stick pan and toast for a few minutes. remove from heat and set aside.
Remove raisins and drain from orange juice, but set aside the orange juice. Set aside raisins. Add apple cider vinegar to the orange juice, then add in olive oil. Mix with hand immersion blender. Set aside.
Place thinly sliced fennel in bowl, add in soaked raisins, then orange slices, cover with olive oil/orange dressing and top with pine nuts, toss.
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