Orange and fennel salad is a traditional Sicilian salad known in Italian as insalata di arance. Common variations of this fresh zesty salad include orange slices with a few additional ingredients such as sliced fennel bulbs, onions, and black olives.
This salad has been adapted from one I was served in a restaurant and the first time I tried it, I was blown away by the freshness and combination of all the different flavours. I loved how the sweetness of the orange, contrasted with the bitterness of the radicchio, the aniseed flavour of the fennel and the crunch of the walnuts.
The cheese I use in this recipe is Halloumi, however, I have also used Gorgonzola and Bocconcini which also work brilliantly.
This recipe easily serves 6 people as a side dish.
What you need
For the Salad:
6 radicchio lettuce leaves – washed and roughly torn.
1 small fennel bulb – cut into quarters and very finely sliced or shaved.
1 orange – peeled and thinly sliced.
½ cup of walnuts.
200g Halloumi cheese cut into bite-size pieces.
For the Dressing:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
Juice of ½ an orange
1 teaspoon honey
Salt & pepper to taste
What to do
Place walnuts in a small frypan on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Be careful not to burn the nuts. Tip onto aboard to cool, then roughly chop.
Place the Halloumi in the same pan and cook on medium heat for about 5 -7 or until golden on both sides.
Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.
Place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine.
Sprinkle as much of the dressing as you like over the salad and toss to mix through – serve immediately (see notes below).
A couple of things to note:
1. You can prepare the salad a few hours ahead of time and store it covered in the fridge, just DON’T add the dressing until just before serving.
2. You can use fresh torn Gorgonzola or Bocconcini cheese instead of fried Halloumi.
3. Don’t add all the dressing at once as it may be too much.
4. Store any leftover dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Meatballs and Muffins 
Questions & comments welcomed