Carmelita's Cookitaly

recipes, food facts and food lore from Italy
 

Fennel and Orange Winter Salad

I was only in Bologna's Mercato del Mezzo to take photos for my Facebook Cook Italy page when it hit me,  the fragrance from the Tarocco oranges I was shooting.

Instant decision: I just had to make an Insalata di Tarocco e Finocchio, my absolute favourite Italian winter salad, the fennel and orange salad from Sicily.  When the weather conditions are right to produce a thermal shock -  very cold nights after relatively warm clear sky days -  the Tarocco oranges turn from "blond" to red, and these were just turning, judging by the two sliced orange halves in the display.


Making this winter salad is a simple matter. Remove the first leaf of the fennel bulb and slice as much of it as you like in the way that you prefer. Peel the oranges to remove skin, pith and the membranes enclosing the fillets, here's a nice Link to The Kitchn that shows you exactly how . Finely chop some flat leaf parsley, assemble and drizzle with olive oil.

There are a few traditional additions of which I sometimes add one or more: finely sliced green leek tops, black olives, or very tiny slivers of salted herring or anchovy, the winter fish for days when the sea was too rough for the fishermen to go out.

Simple but spectacular to look at, and it is also very refreshing with that crisp crunch from the anise flavored fennel. Let me know if you like it or if you have other orange salads you enjoy.

 

Filed under  //   Healthy   Sicily   Sicily cuisine   easy   low calorie   orange   quick   quick and easy   salad   vegetarian   winter  
Posted January 14, 2010
 

Pork chop with sage and scallions, fennel and potato puree

Merged

For a quick, simple and very tasty lunch today I cooked lovely juicy shoulder pork chops, delicately fat marbled and always more tender than loin chops. These were especially good as they came from Sadurano, a wonderful farm on the hills above the historic town of Castrocaro Terme (Forli' & Cesena province) that has been completely organic since 1982.

First I made a bulb fennel and potato puree by cooking a sliced fennel bulb in boiling salted water in one pan, while in a separate pan I cooked two unpeeled floury potatoes starting them off in cold water. This made enough puree for 4 servings. When both were very soft I peeled the potatoes and then squished everything through a potato ricer, to hold back all the stringy parts of the fennel and make the puree nice and lump free. I used a little of the already salted fennel water to soften them, so no extra salt was needed, and kept the puree warm on very low heat while I cooked the chops. I had intended to add some milk and butter to the puree but it tasted perfect just as it was so I left well enough alone. Good decision!

For the pork chop, I shredded a few sage leaves that survived the snow, and thinly sliced four scallions. I warmed up a tablespoon of good olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and then browned the chops in a single layer on both sides, a few minutes per side. The beautiful chops shed very little fat and absolutely no water during this process, wonderful. I then added the scallions and sage to the pan and seasoned with salt and just ground white pepper, and after a minute or so I deglazed the pan with white wine from Tenuta Godenza, a local winery - I love it when I can be really local in my cooking!

Then I covered the pan and left the chops to simmer covered for about 10, maybe 12 minutes while I set the table. There was still quite a lot of liquid so I took the lid off and let the pan juices reduce to a beautiful creamy glaze and the chops were ready. I served them with a little mound of soft and fluffy fennel potato puree on the side, home made bread, and a glass of young red Sangiovese from the wonderful La Zerbina estate.

Buon Appetito!

 

Filed under  //   Pork   braised   easy   fennel   local   pork chop   potato   puree   quick   quick and easy   sage  
Posted January 6, 2010