This went down a treat with the Scarlets Rugby Team as it’s packed with flavour and colour, and the vinegary, garlicky dressing brings the leaves to life. I get my salad leaves from Cae Tan, a Community Supported Agricultural Project in South Wales. Using fresh, biodynamic produce makes an unbelievable difference to how much I enjoy a salad bowl.
Course: Salad
Servings: 4 People
Author: Chef Matt Pritchard
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Ingredients
For the Marinade
2 Oranges Segmented and juice collected
2 Fennel Bulbs Cut into wafer-thin slices
1 tsp Paprika
For the Dressing
4 tbsp Olive Oil Extra virgin
2 tbsp White wine vinegar
1 tsp Wholegrain mustard
1 Garlic clove Crushed
1 tsp Maple Syrup
Salt and pepper
For the salad
3 tbsp Sunflower seeds
3 tbsp Pine nuts
150 g Russian or regular Kale
100 g mixed salad leaves
1/2 cucumber
300 g Rocket
10 Cherry tomatoes
Handful of edible flowers
Instructions
Start with the marinade. Put the orange segments and juice into a bowl with the fennel slices as soon as you slice them (to stop them browning), then add the paprika and stir. Leave to stand, overnight ideally, or for as long as possible.
Put the sunflower seeds and pine nuts into a heavy- based pan and toast them over low heat for 5 minutes, until they take on a rich brown colour – be careful not to char them.
To make the dressing, put the ingredients into a bowl, season to taste and mix thoroughly. The mustard should emulsify the mixture to make a smooth dressing.
Next, prepare the Russian kale. This leaf is good raw, but the stems can be tough. Remove the stems and slice the leaves into bite-sized sections.
Put the salad leaves, the cucumber, kale, rocket and tomatoes into a serving bowl. Pour a half of the dressing into the bowl and toss the salad by hand. Drain the fennel from the marinade, reserving a few orange slices for decoration, and add it to the bowl. Sprinkle over the sunflower seeds and pine nuts, arrange the orange slices on top, then drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad. Garnish with the edible flowers and serve immediately.
