Orange Fennel Salad

This is another dish that resulted from our Imperfect Produce subscription. Fennel kept showing up in our box, so I had to get creative to find ways to use it since it wasn’t something I normally buy. One of my main goals when cooking is finding vegetable dishes and salads that my kids will like. They always get excited when I put fruit in salads, and even more excited about dried fruit, so I decided to get crazy and use both.

Although this is kid friendly (in my house), it’s also a great side dish for entertaining. The citrus helps bring out the anise flavors of the fennel, and the sweetness of the oranges and dates is a delicious pairing with the saltiness of the mustard dressing and bite of red onion. Like most of my recipes, this is extremely simple and quick to throw together.

Orange Fennel Salad

Kirby Walter | 5.1.19

• prep time: 15 minutes
• total time: 15 minutes

Servings:6

Ingredients:

• 4 medium dates pitted and finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons minced red onion
• 1 Medium orange cubed
• 1 fennel bulb (white part chopped)
• 3-4 cups baby spinach

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons red wine or apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons oilve oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Chop the first 4 ingredients as described above and combine in a medium to large salad bowl.
2. Whisk all dressing ingredients together until they are emulsified.
3. Pour dressing over the ingredients in the bowl and toss until mixed well.
4. Serve 1/2 cup of spinach on a plate or bowl and top with fennel/orange mixture. (If desired toss spinach together with dressed mixture)