Fennel and orange salad recipe, Palermo's winter staple

This fennel and orange salad recipe pairs raw fennel with orange segments and black olives, a Palermo staple whose whole technical point is timing: salt and acid go in last, so the fennel stays crisp instead of weeping.

The combination is a fixture of Sicilian winter tables, built around citrus that peaks exactly when fennel does. Older versions used fresh chives or barely salted red onion instead of today's more common raw onion; anchovies are a frequent but optional addition.

Ingredients

Season last, not first — that single rule is the whole recipe.

• 3 fennel bulbs (about 600 g), fronds reserved
• 3 oranges
• 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 80 g black olives, pitted
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 4 anchovy fillets (optional)

Method

1. Slice the fennel paper-thin on a mandoline, cutting across the bulb rather than down through the core — shorter fibres are what keep raw fennel tender instead of stringy.
2. Put the sliced fennel and red onion in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. The cold crisps the fennel further and mellows the onion's bite without cooking it.
3. Cut the peel and all white pith from the oranges, then slice into rounds over a bowl to catch the juice — pith left behind is the main reason citrus salads turn bitter.
4. Drain the fennel and onion and pat completely dry; any water left on them will dilute the dressing.
5. Combine fennel, onion, orange rounds, olives and anchovies if using. Dress with the olive oil, vinegar and the reserved orange juice.
6. Season with salt and pepper only now, just before serving — salted fennel releases water and goes limp within minutes.
7. Scatter the reserved fennel fronds over the top.

A Palermo dish, with room to vary

The oldest versions of this salad left out onion entirely, relying on the oranges' acidity alone to carry it — worth trying if raw onion is not to your taste. For a version closer to how it is served in Palermo today, add the anchovies; they turn a side dish into something that can open a meal on its own.

Blood oranges, when in season from midwinter, make a sharper and more bitter version of the same salad.

Can this fennel and orange salad be made ahead? Slice the fennel and segment the oranges a few hours ahead and keep them covered and separate in the fridge; combine, dress and salt only just before serving, so the timing that makes this fennel and orange salad recipe work is not lost to an early mix.