The perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and crunchy, this salad recipe features shaved raw fennel, baby arugula, and ribbons of homemade candied orange peel.
Yield: 4 side servings
Cook Time: 45 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour
Ingredients
For Candied Orange Peel:
2medium/ 250gorganic oranges, washed well
½cup/ 100ggranulated sugar, plus more for coating
1tablespoon/ 20gcorn syrup
For Vinaigrette:
¼cup/ 60gchampagne or white wine vinegar
1tablespoon/ 20ghoney
2teaspoonsdijon mustard
2teaspoonslemon juice
2teaspoonsfinely minced shallot, from 1 small shallot
1teaspoonfinely grated orange zest
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
3tablespoonslight olive oil or grapeseed oil
For Salad Assembly:
1mediumfennel bulb, cored and very thinly sliced (fronds reserved)
3ounces/ 85gbaby arugula, washed well
coarse flake salt, for finishing
Instructions
For candied orange peel, wash and scrub oranges in warm water. Use a ribbon zester to scrape off thin ribbons of peel; alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to peel off thin swaths of peel, then slice into thin strips.
Place orange peel in a medium saucepan and cover with filtered water. Bring to a boil, then drain off liquid. Cover peel with fresh water and bring to a boil again. Drain once more.
Set saucepan over medium heat; add 1/2 cup filtered water to blanched orange peels, along with sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally just until sugar dissolves. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour (slightly more if your pieces are larger/thicker), until orange peel is tender and starting to turn transparent.
Using a slotted spoon or fork, remove orange peel from syrup and spread onto a wire rack, letting excess syrup drain off. (Orange syrup can be reserved and use for another purpose - it's great for sweetening tea or mixing with club soda for a quick refresher!)
Once orange peel is cooled and dry, toss with granulated sugar until pieces are fully coated (this will prevent them from sticking together). Store orange peel in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
To prepare vinaigrette, whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, lemon juice, shallot and orange zest in a bowl or jar. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking vigorously to emulsify the mixture. Once all the olive oil has been incorporated, drizzle in the light oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Dressing can be stored in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks).
To assemble, toss thinly sliced fennel together with arugula. Divide among serving bowls. Coarsely tear fennel fronds over top. Drizzle with vinaigrette and top with candied orange peel.