trip to sicily

fennel, orange salad & cream cheese, honey and nuts

Or in my case cream cheese, honey and nuts.. and you go nuts!

From time to time I receive edible gifts and when this happens I tend to make the best of it, which means either I eat everything right away or I tend to make the best parings. 

Today my kitchen kiosk catapults to Sicily for fresh, sunny and local flavors.

It should be ricotta, but you can use any good soft, cream cheese (just make sure it is not too salty). Spread few table spoons of cheese on a plate, sprinkle over ground cinnamon and chopped walnuts and drizzle with honey (Honey with Mulberries from Sicily or any other good honey).

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serves 2
2 Mediterranean oranges (seedless and juicy)

½ large fennel bulb – cored, very thinly sliced lengthwise

Pecorino cheese

extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper (mixed peppercorns)

Place fennel slices on a plate and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss them and leave to ‘marinate’ while dealing with the oranges. With the small, sharp knife remove the skin from each orange by slicing around the shape of the orange. Slice the oranges and arrange them over marinated fennel slices. Shave (using cheese shaver) some Pecorino cheese on top. Repeat again, fennel, ornages and finish with Pecorino slices. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and eat.