Prepare an elegant and light appetizer in 10 minutes! Discover the recipe for fennel, smoked salmon, orange, and pomegranate salad, perfect for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
If like me, you focus on appetizers for big occasions, and you’re looking for an idea for Christmas that’s at the same time refined, light, and quick to prepare, the fennel, salmon, and orange carpaccio with pomegranate seeds is the perfect solution. This recipe will allow you to serve raw fennel in a tasty, flavorful, and light way! A preparation that combines the crunchy freshness of fennel, the savoriness of smoked salmon, the citrusy note of oranges, and the festive touch of pomegranate seeds. The true secret for a perfect carpaccio on the palate? Fennel sliced thinly with a mandoline, oranges peeled alive, and a special mustard dressing that will enhance all the flavors.
It is certainly an evergreen to propose among the recipes of appetizers for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve dinner, and not only! Beyond the holidays, in fact, it can also be served as a cold fish main course or a refined winter salad.
In any case, this easy and quick recipe is delicious and very easy to prepare! You’ll see that it will conquer everyone thanks to its vivid colors and Mediterranean flavors!
Other Christmas recipes that might interest you to enrich your buffet:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: New Year's Eve, Christmas
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; buying them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it will not cost you anything extra!
- 2 fennels
- 2 oranges (medium)
- 5 oz smoked salmon
- 1/2 pomegranate
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 tsp chives
- 2 pinches salt
- to taste mixed peppercorns
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Plate
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Jar
Steps
Start by cleaning the fennel: wash them under running water, remove the stalks but keep all the fronds as you’ll need them to garnish the dish.
Cut the fennel in half lengthwise to separate the two halves, then cut each half in half again to obtain 4 total parts.
Then thinly slice each half using a knife or a mandoline.
As you go, arrange the fennel slices on a serving plate, preferably in a single layer or slightly overlapping them, and set aside.
Meanwhile, take care of the oranges: wash them and peel them alive, that is, place them on the cutting board, remove both ends, and remove both the peel and the white part (the albedo) with a deep cut that should follow the natural rounded shape of the orange.
Remove the filaments and any seeds to obtain only the pulp. Once peeled, cut them into segments.
From the peels, by squeezing them, extract the juice which you will need for the final dressing.
Place the orange segments on top of the fennel slices.
Cut the smoked salmon slices into lozenges gently.
Arrange them on the layers of oranges and fennel, creating, if you like, some small roses. Add a generous handful of pomegranate seeds and tear the fennel fronds to add as a decoration.
Now take care of the dressing: in a jar, combine the reserved orange juice, mustard, garlic powder, chives, salt, and a sprinkle of pepper. Complete with oil, close with a lid, and shake well until you obtain a good homogeneous emulsion.
Drizzle the dressing generously over the entire surface of the fennel carpaccio just before serving.
And voilà… the fennel carpaccio with salmon, oranges, and pomegranate is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Conservation
👉You can store the fennel carpaccio with salmon, oranges, and pomegranate in the refrigerator for a maximum of a couple of days covered with plastic wrap or inside a tightly closed container. You can prepare the ingredients in advance, but the emulsion with the juice should be added just before serving to maintain the crunchiness.
Tips, Notes, Variations, and Suggestions
🟣*Choice of oranges: I used the novellino type, a variety of Sicilian oranges from the provinces of Catania and Enna, but alternatively, you can choose other varieties like tarocco, sanguinella or valencia – based on seasonality and personal taste.
🔸In case of hyperglycemia, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes it is necessary to reconsider the fruit portion provided in the recipe, reducing the quantity to just one orange to enjoy a salad with a lower glycemic impact.
🟣For an even richer version, you can add a handful of black, green or mixed olives, or for a Mediterranean variant, some desalted capers or Tropea red onion.
🟣Instead of pomegranate seeds, you can simply garnish with pink peppercorns which will add both color and an aromatic note to the dish. Moreover, pink pepper is not a true pepper, but the fruit of the Schinus molle plant native to Latin America. Therefore, unlike black pepper, pink pepper has a more crumbly consistency and a much less spicy flavor. It contains aromatic essential oils and resins that impart floral notes and a sweet aftertaste. It is perfect for delicate dishes, where you don’t want to overpower the taste of the ingredients.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can the salmon, fennel, and orange salad be transformed into a vegan dish?
Yes, definitely! Here the key is to replace the salmon with an ingredient that offers a similar texture and, above all, the characteristic smoky and “sea-like” taste. The most common and appreciated option is carrot “salmon” or, alternatively, marinated tofu.
1. Carrot Salmon (Carrot Lox):
Preparation: The carrots are peeled into ribbons (using a peeler to obtain long, thin strips), briefly blanched until tender but still firm, and then marinated with soy sauce, olive oil, lemon or orange juice, liquid smoke (an essential ingredient for the smoky flavor) and, for the sea touch, some crumbled algae (like nori or dulse).
2. Marinated Tofu:
Preparation: Tofu should be well-drained, pressed to remove excess water, cut into slices, and superficially scored to aid marinade absorption, using ingredients similar to those for the carrots, possibly adding a bit of beet juice to give the classic pink/orange color of salmon. After marinating, the tofu can be seared in a pan or baked for a more compact and pleasant texture.
There are also ready-made vegan alternatives available on the market (like Unfished and FelsineoVeg/Mopur), which replicate the taste and texture of salmon, using ingredients like plant proteins (soy, rice, wheat) and algae, and can be used directly in the recipe without additional preparation.
