At just 6 ingredients, this fennel salad with blood orange, pomegranate, capers, dill and walnuts is perfect to throw together when you're in a time crunch. It's tasty, only takes 20 minutes to make, and is a welcome departure from your usual green salad.
This fennel salad is that winter salad dreams are made of! It's simple, it's tasty, and it's easy to make. It's also not your typical salad made with lettuce leaves, so if you're looking for a unique salad to make, this is it!
The blood orange, walnuts, capers and pomegranates compliment the shaved fennel perfectly. The blood orange tastes pretty much like a regular orange with a bit of a deeper flavor and adds such gorgeous color to the salad. It's a beautiful salad and will make a great statement on your table!
If you're unfamiliar with fennel, I've provided some tips and information about it below.
What Does Fennel Taste Like?
Fennel has a bright, fresh, anise-like flavor. Some would say it tastes like black licorice. This flavor is strongest at the leaves and stalks, and gets milder at the bulb (the part that looks like a white onion).
How to Cut Fennel?
For this salad, remove the leaves (they look like dill), but keep the stalks on. Cut the fennel bulb in half from the bottom of the bulb to the top of the stalk. The fennel bulb will be composed of layers. Remove the outermost layer, then the second layer, and so forth until you reach the center of the bulb. You will shave each layer. 
How to Shave Fennel?
Using a mandolin, shave each layer of the fennel bulb, and you will get beautiful, thin ribbons of fennel to use for the salad. Stop shaving once you reach the beginning of the stalk.
How to Make This Fennel Salad - Step by Step
Make the Dressing:
In a bowl, combine olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork until all ingredients are incorporated (photo 1)
Assemble the Salad:
In another bowl. add shaved fennel, and top with the dressing. Mix until dressing has fully coated the fennel (photo 2)
Add fennel to plate and top with pomegranate seeds and capers (photo 3)
Finish salad by topping with walnuts, blood orange slices, and dill (photo 4)
Top Tips for Making Fennel Salad:
- If you can't find blood oranges or they aren't in season, you can use regular oranges or grapefruit instead.
- The best way to shave the fennel is with a mandolin. It will make the fennel very thin and the perfect consistency for the salad and to absorb the dressing.
- If you don't have a mandolin, you can chop the fennel finely.
Other Salad Recipes You Might Like:
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Recipe
Fennel Salad with Blood Orange, Pomegranate and Capers
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 3 cups shaved fennel about 1 fennel bulb
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 tablespoon chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoon fresh dill, hand torn
- 6 slices blood orange about 1 blood orange
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- In a bowl, combine olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork until all ingredients are incorporated.
Assemble the salad:
- In another bowl. add shaved fennel, and top with the dressing. Mix until dressing has fully coated the fennel.
- Add fennel to plate and top with pomegranate seeds and capers.
- Finish salad by topping with walnuts, blood orange slices, and dill.
Recipe Notes
- If you can't find blood oranges or they aren't in season, you can use regular oranges or grapefruit instead.
- The best way to shave the fennel is with a mandolin. It will make the fennel very thin and the perfect consistency for the salad and to absorb the dressing.
- If you don't have a mandolin, you can chop the fennel finely.
Michael Lagana says
Tasty
Pina says
Thanks so much Michael!! It's perfect to make when blood oranges are in season 🙂