In recent years, the fennel and orange salad has become a frequent side dish at my house, I make it in different variations, all excellent for me.

Judging by the number of recipes you see around, I would say it is a quite widespread side dish everywhere, but as far as I’m concerned, it hasn’t always been like this, not at all.
I still remember very well the first time, more than twenty years ago, when my mother-in-law told me about this “absurd” thing of seasoning oranges in a salad. And I remember very well my first taste test (because I couldn’t not taste it immediately, right??).
Well, neither my husband nor I managed to like these poor oranges dressed with oil, salt, and pepper. (salt, yes, because we were still in the phase of gradual reduction and I still used it). After that first attempt, we didn’t try again for years! Why would you want to “spoil” nice and good oranges?! 😅

Then, several years later, at a Christmas lunch, my sister-in-law brings out her fennel, orange, and black olive salad which, against all my expectations… I liked! 😀 And suddenly everything changed: oranges in salad started to appear on my table, regularly.

This anecdote is one of the reasons I never give up when my kids don’t eat something, no matter what, because I am more than sure that sooner or later the right recipe that will make them change their mind – about vegetables – will come, yes, sooner or later it will come! 😀💪

The fennel and orange salad, just like the one you see in the following photo, is the version I prepared for Christmas. I enriched it with raisins, which I think pairs perfectly with oranges, and then my daughter loves it so… if it helps her enjoy eating vegetables, now I add it everywhere! 😀

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