Avoid making a bland salad and drowning it in ranch dressing with this easy-to-make, exotic Italian salad. The crunchy, fruity fennel and sweet orange slices lend excitement to any meal and have many health benefits. Fennel, long associated with Mediterranean cooking, is high in fiber, potassium, and Vitamin C. The bright, feathery green bulbs are currently in season and will be until spring. In your supermarket, fennel may be mislabeled as anise, which is very similar and can be substituted for fennel.

Ingredients:

 1 stalk of fennel or anise

 2 oranges

pinch of sea salt

 2 tablespoons of olive oil

To Make:

 1. Wash and dry the fennel and oranges.

 2. Using a large chef’s knife, cut above the fennel bulb to remove the stem. If your bulb has bits of the roots stuck to the lower base, you may remove that as well. If you wish to garnish your dish, cut a few of the feathery fennel fronds to use later.

3. Taking the fennel bulb, chop it in half and then slice thinly about 1/16 inches and place in a large bowl.

4. Make orange supremes, which are orange slices free from white membranes and skin. To do this, first cut 1/2 inches off both ends. Then place the orange on one of its flat surfaces, and cut down to remove any membranes; rotate the orange and remove skin from each section. To make segments, cut along the remaining line of the white membranes and remove the pieces. Repeat for the second orange. Place segments in bowl along with fennel.

 5. Chill the contents in the bowl in the refrigerator until serving time.

 6. Before serving, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Toss and serve.