Refreshing arugula salad with flavorful fennel and sweet navel orange accompanied by a delightful champagne vinegar dressing.
Do you like the texture and flavor of fennel? It was a new ingredient I discovered when I moved to the U.S. In Japan we don’t use fennel in our cooking, so I learned to use it as an ingredient in my soups first, and I loved it.
My local pizza restaurant used raw fennel in their salad and I absolutely loved the texture. So here’s my take on their salad – Arugula Salad with Fennel and Navel Orange which has become one of our family’s favorite salads that I make at home.
How To Make Arugula Salad with Fennel and Navel Orange フェネルとネーブルオレンジのルッコラサラダの作り方
Refreshing arugula salad with flavorful fennel and sweet navel orange accompanied by a delightful champagne vinegar dressing.
Arugula + Fennel Bulb + Navel Oranges = Heavenly
This beautiful and delicious salad involves 4 components: arugula, fennel bulb, navel oranges, and walnuts.
Arugula: Its peppery and pungent flavor adds extra kick to this refreshing salad and complements the sweetness of navel oranges. For substitute, try baby spinach with or without the watercress depending on your personal preference for the peppery taste.
Fennel bulb: The thinly sliced fennel bulb plays a pretty important role in this salad by providing a delightful crunch to the arugula salad. However, if you are not a fan of this vegetable or don’t have access to it, I’d just skip. Some people suggest celery as a substitute for fennel bulb in various recipes but IMHO the taste is very different. If it was for a stew, I’d use celery as a substitute because the texture is quite similar and you don’t taste the ingredient’s natural flavor as much in a stew.
Navel oranges: They are seedless, sweet, and very juicy and work really well with this salad. I also use their juice to add a floral, citrusy accent to the dressing. In case you can’t find them, you can substitute with Valencias or any other sweet orange varietals.
Walnuts: Quickly roast the walnut in the pan for more nutty flavor and extra crunch.
Arugula Salad with Delicate & Light Champagne Vinegar Dressing
For this arugula salad dressing, I use navel orange juice, olive oil, and champagne vinegar. Now if you can’t find champagne vinegar, you can substitute with white wine vinegar but remember it’ll be a bit stronger. Champagne vinegar is lighter and fizzier than white wine vinegar, and it’s a great choice for making dressing for this kind of fruity salad. How about substituting with cider vinegar or distilled vinegar? I think they are too sour for this salad dressing.
This salad was inspired by one of my favorite pizza restaurants in San Francisco – PIZZERIA DELFINA, who won the James Beard award in 2008. I am getting hungry just thinking about their pizza crust…
I hope you enjoy making my Arugula Salad with Fennel and Navel Orange recipe! If you make this recipe, snap a picture and hashtag it #JustOneCookbook. I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter! Thank you so much for reading and till next time!
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- 3 Tbsp walnuts (3 Tbsp = 23 g = 0.8 oz)
- 1-2 navel oranges
- ½ fennel bulb
- 1 Tbsp fennel fronds (optional)
- 1.5 oz arugula (1.5 oz = 43 g)
- ½ Tbsp juice from the navel orange
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Gather all the ingredients.
- Heat a frying pan over medium high heat and toast the walnuts, stirring frequently, until they smell fragrant. Transfer the walnuts to a plate and set aside.
- In a small bowl, squeeze ½ Tbsp. of navel orange juice and set aside. Peel the navel oranges and cut the orange in half crosswise and slice into ½” thick half-moon slices.
- To make the dressing, whisk together ½ Tbsp. navel orange juice (from previous step), 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, and 1 Tbsp. champagne vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Cut off the stems and feathery fronds of the fennel bulb and remove any bruised or discolored outer layers. Save some fronds for garnish. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise and cut out any tough core parts. Cut the fennel bulb crosswise into thin slices.
- Add the arugula and fennel in a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss gently to coat thoroughly. Arrange the salad on a plate and arrange the orange slices. Sprinkle walnuts and fennel fronds. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: Originally published on Mar 26, 2015.
If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
cristina
Pretty salad with complimentary delicious flavors working together. Light and screams spring! 🙂
Julie
Quick question Nami!
Is Arugula the same as Ruccola? They do really look the same, you’re describing the same taste to them AND “Arugula” kinda sounds like a japanese version of “Ruccola”!
Nami
Hi Julie! Yes it’s Ruccola! In Japan we call it Ruccola (ルッコラ) but I believe it’s also called Rocket in Australia. 🙂
A_Boleyn
The salad looks so fresh and tasty.
[email protected] Riffs
What a great salad! And what a great marriage between winter citrus and spring greens. We’ve been craving salads lately — this is perfect. Thanks!
Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen
I’m loving this weather too! I do feel a bit guilty about my feelings but I can’t help myself 🙂 I LOVE salads made with bitter greens and they pair so well with orange. Reminds me of a salad I had at Amici’s (not sure if you have one there?). Looks wonderful!
Baby Sumo
I remember u saying u wanted to recreate this at home after dining in the restaurant, the salad looks so vibrant and summery! <3
Sissi
Beautiful salad, Nami! Strangely the only way I have ever used oranges in savoury salads was with onion and nothing else. Here you give me a wonderful and such a practical idea because I often have both oranges and rocket at home (in a couple of weeks even on my balcony!). I also like fennel a lot, so the recipe is already bookmarked!
Sandra | Sandra's Easy Cooking
Fresh, delicious and healthy… Beautiful and vibrant clicks! BTW, I didn’t know about the name haha..thanks for sharing though!
Hotly Spiced
Beautiful salad, Nami. It looks very refreshing. I make a similar one with blood oranges. We are just coming into our citrus season so I’ll be able to make this very soon. Love how you toasted the walnuts – always gives them a great flavour xx
Ella-HomeCookingAdventure
Love using oranges in salads. Yours look perfect for welcoming the spring.
Kitchen Belleicious
its fresh, its beautiful and it is delicious. I love how it screams spring time.
Su
Hi Nami!
Can I use white wine vinegar instead of champagne vinegar?
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!! :))
Su
O! Just I read your recipe about champagne vinegar!
Anyway thank you!
Nami
Hi Su! So sorry for my late response. I’d recommend to use champagne vinegar, but if you can’t get one, then white wine vinegar is okay. However, if you make this kind of salad often, buy a champagne vinegar. 🙂
Gourmet Getaways
Agree! There is certainly a good amount of balance in this salad in terms of colour, nutrition and taste. Everything is distinct and put together, awesomeness!!!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Cailee
YUM! This salad looks amazing! I just love adding fruit and nuts to my salad, don’t you?! SO satisfying!! Great recipe girl! 🙂
Kami Kilgore
I can’t wait to try this salad! Also… your photos are gorgeous and can’t stop my mouth from watering. I would be honored if you checked out our conference and affiliate program. We need awesome bloggers like you! http://www.foodbloggingconference.com/become-an-affiliate/
Linda | www.brunchnbites.com
Whoaaaa…Nami, those navel oranges look super good. So fresh and vibrant, and it does make arugula tastes so much better and sweeter. Yum!
Gem (breakfastandsalads)
This salad looks so refreshing and light. Had me salivating just looking at the pictures!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
I love this salad…the next time I make it I’m adding the nuts. They will give extra flavor and texture. Thanks for the inspiration.
JoAn
This looks amazing ! Definitely something easy enough to make and bring to school ! 😀
btw, Ms Nami, which Japanese market do you go to to get your Japanese ingredients ? I also live nearby SF Bay Area and would like to get the same ingredients as you when I get the chance !
Thank you !
Best regards,
JoAn
Nami
Hi JoAn! I often go to Nijiya in San Mateo, and if I can’t find some ingredient, I go to Suruki in San Mateo. 🙂