Orange, avocado and fennel salad

Zesty, creamy, crispy. That’s salad perfection for me. I’ve been discovering the joys of using oranges in place of tomato segments, and I am kicking myself for not doing this earlier. I always thought it was too weird and ever so slightly pretentious, because I’ve never seen a salad with orange segments that hasn’t been in a magazine, accompanied by a billion obscure ingredients, and photographed much nicer than the salad above. Flicking through the flavor bible one lunch time made me finally resign myself. I refuse to buy tomatoes until they’re properly in season now, because let’s face it, out of season tomatoes are pretty sub-par, and incredibly dear. Oranges on the other hand taste fine to me no matter what the season, even though they are most abundant in July in New Zealand (according to NZ Gardner anyway). Orange and fennel are a fantastic combination, but the avocado adds a little richness. I also used marinated artichoke hearts, but I think I’d skip these next time as they were surprisingly overpowering. Kalamata olives will be my next experiment.

Orange, avocado and fennel salad

makes a generous side for 2

• 1 fresh orange (bought less than a week ago), peeled and cut into segments (most recipes tell you to remove the white stringy bits but I’m far too lazy and I don’t understand the obsession with removing them)
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced super thin (1mm or less)
• 1 large or 2 small ripe hass avocados, bite size slices scooped out
• olive oil
• juice of half a lemon (or a whole small lemon if you like zesty salad)
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful mild salad greens (I used miner’s lettuce, but baby spinach, young beetroot leaves, or young mesclun leaves would work fine)

Toss veges and orange together. Place lemon juice, twice as much olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a small jar, cover, and shake like made. Drizzle over veges. Taste, season further if necessary, and serve (especially with lemony pesto smeared over crusty bread)!

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