Drab and cold have defined this long winter but I reward myself by making some colorful dishes to get me by til spring, like this pretty-to-look-at-and-eat blood orange salad. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of in-season citrus fruits and use them in salads and cooking. Blood orange and fennel is a popular Sicilian salad often enhanced with black oil cured olives. Make it ahead of time and allow it to sit for several hours before serving.

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Sicilian Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

INGREDIENTS

6 large blood oranges

1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed and cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons finely minced fennel leaves

1/2 cup whole, pitted oil cured black olives (optional)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Peel the oranges and remove as much of the pith (white membrane) as possible. Slice 4 of the oranges into thin rounds and place them in a shallow dish, slightly overlapping them.

Sprinkle the fennel strips, fennel leaves, (and olives if using) over the slices.

Squeeze the remaining oranges and place the juice in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil,

Drizzle the olive oil over, and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the salad stand at room temperature for several hours. Every so often, tilt and turn the dish so that the oil and juices that have collected flow over and around the oranges. Serves 4.

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