Spring Salad with Fennel and Orange

Here is a simple salad recipe that incorporates fennel. With the contrasting salad ingredients, this salad is bright in color. It is accompanies with a zesty, sweet dressing.

The orange is an excellent compliment in taste and texture to the fennel. This is a great recipe to hang on to for those times when you need a special salad to impress the guests or wow the family.

If you own a mandolin, this would be an excellent time to pull it out and use if for the fennel. Just remember to go slow, be smart, use the hand guard and be aware of where your fingers are.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup white sugar or Splenda
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

• 10 ozs mixed salad greens
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 orange, peeled and segmented
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Process:

1. In a small bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and emulsified
   
   
2. In a large salad bowl, combine all salad ingredients
   
   
3. Pour dressing on salad and toss to coat