Thank you to everyone for tuning into my first Substack live video with
yesterday. It was so fun to be reunited with Melissa after all these years.During the talk, Melissa and I reminisced about the first time we met. It was 2018 (thank you for remembering that Mel), and Mel and our mate
had flown in from London to attend the Cherrybombe Jubilee event in New York. The three of us were in charge of cooking a salad for their afternoon happy hour. We made about 500 servings (is my memory right here Mel & Anna?) of fennel, orange, black olive and harissa salad for hungry guests (thanks to New York Shuk for the idea and the best harissa). It was a completely mad experience but I’m grateful for it because I got to meet these two.Here’s a trip down memory lane, circa April 2018:
This retrospective would not be complete without THE fennel, orange and harissa salad which bought us together. The recipe is from the 5th Anniversary edition of Community which was released in 2019. It’s a rather perfect salad, enjoy!
Fennel, chickpea and orange with harissa
© Excerpted from Community, Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen (2019, Plum / Pan Macmillan Australia) by Hetty McKinnon, by Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
Serves 4
3 large oranges (about 2 pounds / 1kg)
3 small fennel bulbs (about 3 pounds / 1.4kg), bulbs trimmed and fronds reserved
2 cans chickpeas (about 500g / about 1 pound), drained
2–3 tablespoons harissa paste
½ cup pitted marinated black olives
2 big handfuls of parsley leaves
1–2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
Using a sharp paring knife, cut the top and the bottom off each orange and stand it up on a cutting board. Working top to bottom, cut away the peel, making sure to remove as much of the white pith as possible. Holding a peeled orange over a bowl to catch any juices, cut between the membranes to segment. Repeat with the remaining oranges. If you are short on time, or like the texture and bitterness of pith, you can simply peel the oranges and cut them up into bite-sized pieces.
Finely slice the fennel using a mandoline, food processor or sharp knife.
To serve, combine the fennel, chickpeas, orange segments and any juice, harissa, olives, parsley, reserved fennel fronds and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss gently to combine. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper, and eat immediately.
Join me for my next live video in the app.
Share this post