It’s a marvelous and unusual paring of fall/winter fruits and crisp fennel to create this tempting first course salad.  Sounds like a strange combination of fall finds- ruby oranges, and pomegranate seeds, crunchy fennel, jicama, and pumpkin seeds but these flavors come together magnificently.  The crowning glory is the Lemon Chive dressing drizzled over the top.  At Skinny Kitchen we love to introduce new foods you might not have tried before.  The skinny on this  robust salad – 180 calories, 8.9g fat and only 224mg sodium per serving.  The full fat version is much greater at 449 calories, 36.4g fat and 941mg sodium.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 recipe for Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced (only use bulb)

2 blood oranges, peeled and segmented (or any oranges)

1 cup jicama, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Prepare the Lemon Chive dressing and refrigerate.

2. Divide the sliced fennel among 4 plates.

3. Place one half of a segmented orange on top of each salad.

4. Sprinkle the jicama, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds evenly over each.

5. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of dressing over each salad.

6. Placed shaved parmesan on top of each salad.

Serves 4

Food Fact
Fennel is part of the parsley family that has a licorice flavor.

Pomegranates were known as the fruit of the gods.  They were thought to have mystical powers. This ancient fruit has edible seeds.

Jicama is a large bulbous root with brown skin and a nutty taste.  It looks like a turnip and tastes like a cross between an apple, pear and a potato.

Healthy Benefit
Treat your taste buds with a smart snack.  A handful of pumpkin seeds contain nearly 50% of your daily magnesium quota.  They are rich in zinc, iron, and omega 3’s fatty acids.

Fennel is a soothing vegetable that is thought to calm stomach and intestinal cramps, gas and stomach pain.

Pomegranates are rich in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and antioxidants.

Shopping Tip
Can’t find blood oranges? You can substitute the sweetest variety of oranges available.  In the spring you can use Clementine (seedless) tangerines to replace the blood oranges.

You can find pomegranate seeds packed in a container at many supermarkets.  We found them at Trader Joe’s. You can also cut open a fresh one and remove the seeds.  If you can’t find them, you can substitute dried cherries or cranberries.

Shaved parmesan cheese can be found packed in containers in most supermarkets. You can make your own from a block of fresh parmesan cheese.  Take a carrot peeler or cheese slicer and make the shavings.

Lemon and Chive Dressing

This lemony dressing was created to drizzle over the Blood Orange, Pomegranate, and Fennel Salad. Great news- this skinny dressing contains only 36 calories and 2.8 grams of fat for 2 tablespoons.  The full fat recipe has a tremendous amount at 93 calories and 9.8grams of fat for 2 tablespoons.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients.

2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

3. Lemon and Chive Dressing will keep for up to one week

Makes 2/3 cup

Healthy Benefit

A tablespoon of lemon juice contains 12% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

Prep Tip

To get more juice from a lemon store it at room temperature.  Next, roll with the palm of your hand before slicing.

This entry was posted Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 12:40 am and is filed under Recent, Recipes. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.