This is my alternative take on a classic Sicilian dish, a wonderful fresh salad made with raw fennel, orange and black olives (you can find my version here on my Dutch blog).
It's easy to make, super good, very tasty and perfect for a Summer dinner outside (I prefer to avoid the term al fresco since in Italian it mainly means "in prison"...). :D
I love oven-baked veggies even in Summer. After all, the temperatures here in The Netherlands are seldom so high that I don't feel like using my beloved oven.
Extra bonus you get with this dish: the small Taggia olives (my favourite black olives produced in my birth region Liguria) become nice and crunchy. Such a great, tasty texture and a real explosion of "Taggianess" in your mouth!
TIP: remember to leave part of the core of fennel and onions so that the layers of each wedge will stay together. This improves the beauty of the dish and prevents fennel and onions from getting burnt too easily.
Finocchi al forno con cipolle rosse, arancia e Taggiasche
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 or 2 big fennel bulb, cleaned and quartered
1 organic orange, well washed
2 or more red onions, peeled and quartered
a few Taggia olives
a few oregano sprigs
extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven at 180°C (356 F).
Slice the orange not too thickly and lay the round slices in an oven dish covered with baking parchment.
Lay the fennel and onion wedges on top of the orange slices, tuck the oregano underneath them and drizzle with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the oven you have.
Serve with a little drizzle of e.v. olive oil.
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