Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad

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Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad is a refreshing blend of blood orange, mandarins, shaved fennel and creamy avocado served with a maple vinaigrette!

Are you loving winter produce as much as I am?  I truly look forward to winter so I can revisit some of my favorite produce like pomegranates, winter squash, and the ingredients here in this Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad.

One vegetable that’s highly underrated is fennel.  Yes, it has an anise flavor, and while you won’t ever catch me eating black licorice,  I love fennel.  I didn’t love it by any means the first time I tried it many years ago, because I made it into a slaw and chopped in big, thick pieces.  The anise flavor overpowered the whole thing and I didn’t try it again for a long time.  I’m so glad I gave it another chance, and I’ve never looked back. 🙂

Fennel is so fresh and crunchy, and I love to slice it thinly and add it to slaws, brussels sprout salad, or just toss it with arugula and parmesan with a lemony vinaigrette.  And when you roast it with veggies or a pork roast, it gets caramelized and magical.  I love using the fronds right along with it in dishes, because it acts as an herb, freshening up the dish and also making it look extra pretty.

I didn’t intend to turn into a cheerleader for fennel only in this post, so let’s get to our other star ingredients — all that gorgeous citrus and creamy avocado. 🙂

I used a combination of grapefruit, blood orange, and clementines in this salad to get all the different citrus flavors, and they’re so bright and colorful, they just light up this plate!  The avocado is just the richness this salad needs, and it makes one addicting combination.  I used my favorite citrus maple vinaigrette because it works with almost everything this time of year, and I’ve always got some in the fridge these days.

This salad is just layers of citrus, crunch, and creaminess, and it’s what winter is all about.  Go ahead and toss some pistachios or hazelnuts on top for even more crunch and texture…or not!  It’s heavenly as-is, too. 🙂

More fennel recipes you’ll love:

• Coleslaw
• Fennel
• Radicchio salad
• Roasted spatchcock chicken
• Shaved fennel salad by Simply Recipes

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Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad

Yield: About 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad is blood orange, clementine, and grapefruit with crunchy fennel and creamy avocado. It's drizzled with a citrus maple vinaigrette for a flavorful, refreshing winter salad!

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Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1-2 blood oranges, depending on size
• 1 grapefruit
• 2 clementines
• 1 fennel bulb, top removed, halved, and sliced thinly (save some fronds to mix in with the salad)
• 1 avocado, pitted and sliced

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1½ teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. To peel your citrus, simply cut off the tops and bottoms of each, and place standing up on a cutting board. Cut the peel off from the top to the bottom removing as much of the white pith as possible, then turn sideways and slice each width-wise.
2. Place the orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup, dijon, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream whisking constantly until emulsified.
3. Layer the salad decoratively on a platter with the citrus, fennel, fronds, and avocado, and drizzle generously with the vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Notes

• Salad is best enjoyed the day that it's made.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 307Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 143mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 7gSugar: 19gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information is mean to be an estimate only. The numbers will vary based on the quantity consumed, brands used and substitutions that are made.

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