Serves four
Ingredients
- 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced into halved rings
- 4 navel oranges or tangerines
- 1 medium fennel bulb
- 1/4 cup olives, preferably kalamata, halved, or niçoise, whole (optional)
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 bunch watercress, washed, with hard stems removed
- 1/4 pound feta cheese, preferably sheep’s milk, crumbled, about 3/4 cup (optional)
Soak the onion in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and dry thoroughly.
Cut the peel and any white pith from the oranges with a sharp paring knife, then cut the sections free from the membranes, letting them drop into a medium bowl to collect the juices, which will become part of the dressing. Add the onions to the citrus.
Trim the fennel, using a peeler to peel off any discolored parts. Halve the fennel and cut away the hard core.
Using a mandoline or a knife, slice the fennel halves very thinly and add it to the citrus along with the olives. If you plan to serve this immediately, stir in the parsley at this point as well.
Stir in the salt and sprinkle with black pepper.
Stir in the olive oil and let sit for 30 minutes or so to let the flavors marry.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed skillet, dry-toast the walnuts until fragrant, about five minutes.
Rub the walnuts against the strainer (over the sink or wastebasket) to loosen the skins. Remove the walnuts from the strainer and chop into small (1/4-inch) pieces.
Serve the salad on the watercress, sprinkled with the walnuts and cheese.
Recipe excerpted from The Healthy Hedonist Holidays by Myra Kornfeld (Simon & Schuster, 2007).
Food Photography by John Mowers/Unleashed Productions; Food Styling by Betsy Nelson
