Minted Orange, Fennel and Red Onion Salad - January 22nd

Note from K: I think you could try this with ground coriander and skip the toasting/grinding step when making the dressing.

Minted Orange, Fennel and Red Onion Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
4 red-wine vinegar
1.5 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium-large red onion
2 large fennel bulb (sometimes called anise, about 1 pound)
6 large navel oranges
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

Directions:
Make Dressing:
Heat a dry small heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast coriander seeds, stirring, until fragrant and a little darker, about 2 minutes. With a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder or cleaned electric coffee grinder, grind coriander to a coarse powder. In a bowl, whisk together coriander and remaining dressing ingredients.Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.


Prepare Salad:
Slice onions crosswise as thinly as possible into rings. In a bowl of ice and cold water, soak onion (separate rings if necessary) 15 minutes.

Trim stalks from fennel and thinly slice fennel bulbs crosswise.

With a sharp knife, cut a slice from top and bottom of each orange to expose flesh and arrange cut side down on a cutting board. Cutting from top to bottom, remove peel and pith. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Drain onion well and pat dry between paper towels.

Arrange fennel, onion and orange decoratively on a platter or individual plates and scatter with mint. Whisk dressing and drizzle over salad.