Recipe of the day: Orange fennel salad with pralined almonds and smoked paprika

Chef and Cape Town food personality Karen Dudley has always had a knack for making vegetables feel like the main event rather than something relegated to the side of the plate.

Her orange fennel salad with pralined almonds and smoked paprika is a particularly good fit for Garden Day.

It brings together oranges, fennel, watercress, mint and thyme with the richness of feta and the crunch of a smoked paprika almond praline. It is colourful, fresh and full of ingredients that let the garden do much of the talking.

Ingredients

• 6 medium oranges, using one or two Cara Cara or blood oranges if available
• 2 large fennel bulbs, very finely sliced
• Maldon sea salt
• 80g soft Danish feta, gently broken into bite-sized pieces
• A good handful of watercress
• 10g picked mint leaves

For the almond praline

• 80g flaked almonds
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 100g castor sugar

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp runny honey
• Leaves from a sprig of thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Method

1. To make the praline, prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or baking paper and lightly butter it. Toss the flaked almonds with the paprika.
2. Sprinkle the sugar over the base of a heavy-based frying pan and heat until the edges begin to caramelise and the sugar melts to a pale golden colour. Do not leave it unattended or stir it.
3. Immediately stir in the flaked almonds and quickly spread the praline over the prepared baking sheet as thinly and evenly as possible. Leave to cool in a dry place before breaking into fine shards or lightly crushing with a rolling pin.
4. For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
5. Slice the tops and bottoms off the oranges. Using a sharp paring knife, cut down the sides to remove the peel and pith, then slice the oranges into rounds, removing any pips.
6. Trim the fennel bulbs, reserving the fronds for the salad. Cut the bulbs in half and remove the core, then slice very finely. Add the sliced fennel to the dressing.
7. Pick through the watercress, discarding any very thick stems.
8. In a shallow bowl or serving platter, layer the orange with the dressed fennel, fennel fronds, mint leaves, and feta. Finish with the pralined almonds and the remaining fennel and mint leaves. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon salt and dust with a little smoked paprika.

Recipe of the day: Orange fennel salad with pralined almonds and smoked paprika

Chef and Cape Town food personality Karen Dudley has always had a knack for making vegetables feel like the main event rather than something relegated to the side of the plate.

Her Orange Fennel Salad with Pralined Almonds and Smoked Paprika is a particularly good fit for Garden Day.

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It brings together oranges, fennel, watercress, mint and thyme with the richness of feta and the crunch of a smoked paprika almond praline.  It is colourful, fresh and full of ingredients that let the garden do much of the talking.

• Author: Thami Kwazi

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• • 6 medium oranges, using one or two Cara Cara or blood oranges if available

• • 2 large fennel bulbs, very finely sliced

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• • Maldon sea salt

• • 80g soft Danish feta, gently broken into bite-sized pieces

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• • A good handful of watercress

• • 10g picked mint leaves

For the almond praline

• • 80g flaked almonds

• • ½ tsp smoked paprika

• • 100g castor sugar

For the dressing

• • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• • 1 tbsp orange juice

• • 2 tsp runny honey

• • Leaves from a sprig of thyme or a pinch of dried thyme

• • 7 tbsp olive oil

• • ½ tsp toasted cumin seeds

• • 1 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

 

1. To make the praline, prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or baking paper and lightly butter it. Toss the flaked almonds with the paprika.
2. Sprinkle the sugar over the base of a heavy-based frying pan and heat until the edges begin to caramelise and the sugar melts to a pale golden colour. Do not leave it unattended or stir it.
3. Immediately stir in the flaked almonds and quickly spread the praline over the prepared baking sheet as thinly and evenly as possible. Leave to cool in a dry place before breaking into fine shards or lightly crushing with a rolling pin.
4. For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
5. Slice the tops and bottoms off the oranges. Using a sharp paring knife, cut down the sides to remove the peel and pith, then slice the oranges into rounds, removing any pips.
6. Trim the fennel bulbs, reserving the fronds for the salad. Cut the bulbs in half and remove the core, then slice very finely. Add the sliced fennel to the dressing.
7. Pick through the watercress, discarding any very thick stems.
8. In a shallow bowl or serving platter, layer the orange with the dressed fennel, fennel fronds, mint leaves, and feta. Finish with the pralined almonds and the remaining fennel and mint leaves. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon salt and dust with a little smoked paprika.