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

Judging by the number of recipes you see around, I would say it is a rather 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, 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 try it right away, right??).
Well, neither my husband nor I could enjoy these poor oranges seasoned 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 it again for years! Why would anyone want to ‘ruin’ beautiful and good oranges?! 😅

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

This anecdote is one of the reasons why I never give up when my kids don’t eat something, and it doesn’t matter what, because I’m more than certain 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, precisely this one you see in the following picture, is the version I prepared for Christmas. I enriched it with raisins, which paired with orange is excellent to me, and my daughter loves it, so… if it helps her enjoy eating vegetables, I add it everywhere now! 😀

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