A salad to showcase winter produce - crunchy slivers of raw sweet fennel, tossed with peppery cress leaves with grassy notes, local olives and some surprise bursts of citrus flesh in a honey dressing.  To use up the left over cress, pass through a juicer with a couple of celery stalks and apples for a vitamin boost breakfast juice.

serves 6

3 oranges, or pink grapefruit, or myer lemons

2 small or 1 large fennel, finely sliced, reserve fronds

1 bunch stonecress, or watercress, leaf tips picked

¼ cup olives (I used Main Ridge Olive Company’s)

½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar (I used Mock Red Hill)

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Peel your chosen citrus fruit, then segment and slice across each segment in to three or four pieces. Squeeze the juice from the remaining fruit. 

Place the fennel, cress, citrus pieces and olives in a large bowl. Place the vinegar, honey, citrus juice, oil and salt in a screw-top jar. Shake well to combine, check seasoning, then pour over the fennel mixture. Toss ingredients to coat in the dressing.

Transfer to a platter. Finely chop the reserved fennel fronds and scatter over the top. Serve the salad straight away.

Fiona Hammond © July 2020