Slightly sour grapefruit, refreshing and crunchy fennel, tender baby arugula and salty Parmesan come together in this delicious winter salad (that can be enjoyed any time of the year!).

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Did you know that the Winter season is actually the best time to buy citrus fruits? That’s because citrus crops like oranges and grapefruits tend to be heavily harvested just as the winter months begin. Citrus is very sensitive to freezing, so therefore it’s all harvested before the plants freeze over. That’s why in the dead of winter you’ll always find citrus fruits at your grocery store!

Grapefruit is one of the most often forgotten-about citrus fruits. I feel like when people think of grapefruit, they just imagine eating it at breakfast and scooping out the flesh with one of those sharp grapefruit spoons. It’s pretty sour just by itself and needs to be paired correctly in order to get the best taste of out of it!

One of my new favorite food combinations is fennel and baby arugula. Fennel is sweet, crunchy and refreshing. Baby arugula is tender and slightly peppery. When you add grapefruit into the mix, you get a citrus-y taste that just binds it all together.

And you can’t forget about the shaved Parmesan! That makes such a huge difference!

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Grapefruit Fennel Salad

Refreshing and crunchy fennel is combined with sweet and sour grapefruit and tender baby arugula. Topped with a lemon and olive oil dressing and salty Parmesan cheese. 

Servings 4

Author Emily Weeks, RDN, LD

Ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb
• 2 pink grapefruits
• 5 oz baby arugula
• ¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• flaky sea salt for serving

Instructions

1. Cut the stems from the fennel bulb and discard (or keep fronds for garnish). Very thinly slice the fennel bulb with a mandolin.
2. Peel and segment the grapefruits.
3. Make the dressing: whisk all ingredients together vigorously.
4. In a large bowl combine the sliced fennel, segmented grapefruit, baby arugula, Parmesan, and dressing. Toss to combine. Top with flaky salt.
5. Serve immediately.