Appetizer Recipes : Mixed Lettuce, Fennel & Orange Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette

8 servings, 1 3/4 cups each

This colorful salad offers a symphony of flavors and textures. Savory black olives, sweet orange slices and crisp, licorice-flavored fennel balance the slightly bitter tastes of chicory, radicchio and Belgian endive.

Black olive vinaigrette

Ingredients :

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Salad

Ingredients :

3 medium navel or Valencia oranges
10 cups mixed lettuces (3 small heads), such as chicory, radicchio and leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
2 heads Belgian endive, sliced
2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and sliced

1. To prepare vinaigrette: Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Stir in olives and parsley.

2. To prepare salad: Using a sharp knife, remove peel and white pith from oranges. Quarter the oranges; slice pieces crosswise.

3. Just before serving, combine lettuces, endive, fennel and the orange slices in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat well.

Make-Ahead Tip

To make ahead: the vinaigrette will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Washed, dried lettuce will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Keep prepared oranges and fennel in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.