FENNEL ORANGE & GRAPE SALAD

serves 4

What You Need

2 large or 4 small ripe oranges
1–1-1/2 cup of black and/or white grapes – removed from the stalk
1/2 cup of snow pea tendrils
2 medium-sized bulbs of fennel

Dressing

2 tablespoons of walnut oil
1 teaspoon of Meaux mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped broad-leaved parsley
1 clove of garlic, chopped fine
Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Here’s How

Slice the fennel crosswise so that you end up with oval-shaped pieces. Peel the orange and break into slices. Add all of these to a flat bowl and garnish with the snow pea tendrils.

For the dressing. Put everything into a jar. Shake it up and pour it over the salad. Toss and serve immediately on separate plates.

The fresh, crunchy taste of fennel makes you feel as though it’s good for you when you eat it, and indeed it is. Sodium and potassium are antagonists – they need to be taken in by the body in some sort of good balance in order to maintain health. Most of us eat too much salt – sodium chloride. Fennel, which is rich in potassium, helps redress the imbalance. Fennel also contains phyto-oestrogens. These are the natural plant hormones that help protect us from the onslaught of the dangerous oestrogens in the environment and from the negative effects of oestrogen-based drugs, which are given far too often to women. As a result, fennel is a useful vegetable in helping not only to regulate menstruation but also to clear PMS. It even stimulates the flow of breast milk in nursing mothers.

When you buy fennel, look for the fattest stems – they have more flavor and more phytohormones in them. I find the delicate aniseed flavor of fennel delicious whether it’s cooked or raw. This salad combines the sweetness of orange and grape with the freshness of fennel. It is topped off by snow pea tendrils with their gorgeous curlicues to make even the simplest dish look something splendid