This is my favorite Florida winter salad. The shaved fennel is a nice change from salad greens. It has a satisfying crunch with a hint of licorice. I love it with grapefruit, but sometimes I use oranges. Sometimes both.
To “supreme” is a method of slicing citrus which extracts segments without any membrane. My mom supremes deftly, removing the peel with a paring knife in one long spiral and whipping through each section like the pages of a book. I’m not as dexterous, and you’ll find my method in the directions below. Just try it. The perfect little segments are worth it.
Top it with any toasted seeds or nuts you have on hand, or go all-out with this savory granola.
Avocado, Fennel, and Grapefruit Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 fennel bulb (save a bit of fronds for garnish)
- 1 red grapefruit
- 1 avocado
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- 2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds or Savory Granola
- mint and fennel leaves, for garnish
Directions:
Shave the fennel bulb with a mandoline or thinly slice it with a knife onto a platter.
Supreme the grapefruit: Remove a thin slice from the top and bottom of the grapefruit so it sits flat on a cutting board. Remove the rest of the peel by slicing it away in sections from top to bottom, all the way around. Hold the remaining fruit over a bowl, slice between the membranes with a paring knife to remove each section. When all of the segments have been removed, squeeze the remaining core into the bowl. Remove any seeds.
Arrange the grapefruit segments over the fennel. Reserve the juice for the dressing.
Thinly slice the avocado and arrange over the top.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the shallot, grapefruit juice, honey and vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add salt, to taste.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Add freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Sprinkle on the sunflower seeds or savory granola. Garnish with mint and fennel fronds.
