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Italian Fennel & Radicchio Salad

The salad has fennel, radicchio, carrots, tomatoes, oranges, olives, mushrooms, and homemade croutons. The clean and contrasting flavors make for an easy and satisfying salad for any season.
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Thomas

Equipment

  • Skillet
  • Salad Bowl

Ingredients

Salad

  • 2-4 cups romaine lettuce chopped
  • 2-4 cups arugula
  • 1 cup radicchio sliced very thinly
  • 1 cup fennel root sliced very thinly
  • 1 cup carrot shredded or julienned
  • 1.5 cups grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 2 medium oranges peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup pitted black olives cut in half

Croutons

  • 2 cups bread cut into 3/4-inch (2-cm) cubes
  • 1-2 Tablespoons oil plant-based butter or olive oil (optional)

Dressing

  • 2-3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

Instructions

Cook the Croutons

  • In the toaster - Before cutting the bread into cubes, toast the slices of bread until crispy. Apply oil as desired.
  • In the oven - Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Stir with oil as desired. Place baking sheet in the oven as it preheats to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Check on croutons frequently as you bake them until golden and crispy, turning once. It should take 7-15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
  • In a skillet - Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the bread cubes and spread them into a single layer. Turn bread cubes frequently until they are golden brown on all sides, 7-10 minutes. Reduce the heat if the oil starts to burn. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Mix the Salad

  • Combine all the “Salad” ingredients with the croutons in a large bowl. Add the dressing 1 Tablespoon at a time as you stir the salad. Try a piece and add more dressing as needed. Toss to mix well.

Notes

The range in number of cups for the romaine and arugula is given as a guide. You can adjust amounts of these as you prefer. The rest of the ingredients are intended to accompany about 4-6 cups of greens.
You can use store-bought croutons but they won’t be as good.