Rinse the fennel bulb, cut off the stalks and keep a few sprigs of the green fronds for garnish. Halve the bulb lengthwise, then cut out the tough base at an angle.
Recipes Starter · Aphrodisiac recipe
Fennel, orange and pomegranate salad with mint.
A starter that crunches, smells of anise and bursts between your teeth: raw fennel, orange peeled to the flesh and pomegranate seeds, ready in a quarter of an hour.
Fennel, orange and pomegranate salad with mint, plated for an intimate dinner for two with two glasses and a candle. AI-generated illustrations.
See in Photo Comic artA starter that crunches, tingles a little and smells of anise: fennel, orange and pomegranate salad wakes up the palate without spoiling your appetite. It comes together in a quarter of an hour, waits patiently for an hour in the fridge, and leaves plenty of room for the rest of dinner.
On the symbolism front, it has plenty going for it. The pomegranate, with its seeds packed tight like rubies, has been an emblem of fertility around the Mediterranean since antiquity. Nothing proves it acts on desire, but the plate is beautiful, fresh and colorful, and the fennel leaves a welcome hint of anise in the mouth when you're planning on kissing.
Serve it as a starter, barely out of the fridge, with a glass of dry white. It opens the meal without weighing it down, which is exactly what you want from a first course when the evening is meant to carry on.
The fennel leaves a welcome hint of anise in the mouth when you're planning on kissing.
Method.
7 steps · 15 minutesSlice each half as thinly as possible, on a mandoline (always with the finger guard) or with a very sharp knife. Plunge the slices into a bowl of ice water while you prepare the rest: they'll get even crunchier.
Peel the orange to the flesh. Cut a slice off the top and bottom, stand the fruit flat, then use the knife to remove the peel and all the white pith, following the curve. Over a bowl, slide the blade along each side of every membrane to free the segments, then squeeze what's left between your fingers to collect the juice.
Seed a quarter of the pomegranate: cut side down, over a salad bowl, tap the skin with the back of a large spoon and the seeds fall out on their own. Pick out the little bits of white pith, which are bitter.
Make the dressing: whisk 2 cl of the collected orange juice with the olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.
Drain the fennel and dry it in a clean kitchen towel. Divide it between two plates, add the orange segments and pomegranate seeds, then drizzle with the dressing.
Just before serving, finely slice the mint and scatter it over the plates with the crushed pistachios and the fennel fronds you kept for garnish.
Tips.
The Points G editors
Recipes proofread before publication. The virtues credited to foods owe more to tradition than to science: the pleasure of cooking for two is real enough. AI-generated illustrations.
The whole menu
Aphrodisiac dinner for two.
A crunchy salad, fish baked en papillote, honey-roasted figs and one glass, not the bottle: the dinner for two that delights without weighing you down, with its recipes and a timeline so you're not rushing.
Read the menu
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