Our favorite salads always have a lot of flavor and hit every taste bud and texture.  This salad has it all: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami tastes, plus crispy, crunchy, and creamy textures.

One of our friends makes a delicious roselle jam using the roselle hibiscus flowers we grow on our farm; we use that jam to make this vinaigrette which adds a bright lemony flavor and a hint of sourness or tartness to the dressed arugula.

Preparation Time:  30 minutes

Cook Time:  5 minutes for the crispy, fried leeks

Yields:  4 dinner salads or 8 side salads

Ingredients:

Salad

• 8 cups arugula
• 1 small to medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced or shaved
  • 1 cup water
• 1 navel orange supremed
• Optional garnish:
  • Leek rings fried until crispy
    • 1 leek, white part sliced into rings and separated
    • 1 tbsp cornstarch
    • 1-2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup Greek feta crumbles

Roselle (Hibiscus) Vinaigrette

• 1 tsp roselle jam
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp shallots finely diced
• 1/4 tsp garlic finely diced
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Salad

• Wash the arugula really well, remove and discard any discolored leaves, drain, repeat two more times, spin dry; place in a large salad bowl; set aside.
• Wash the fennel bulb, remove any discolored segments, slice thinly using either a mandolin or very sharp knife, wash the slices, place in a bowl, fill with water until the fennel slices are just covered.
• Supreme the orange
  • You may also purchase canned/jarred orange slices (usually Mandarin oranges) and use them instead.
• Greek feta
  • Crumble the Greek feta if it isn’t crumbled already; set aside but in the fridge.

Roselle vinaigrette:

• Add the roselle jam, vinegar, and dijon mustard to a small mixing bowl.
• Peel and finely dice the shallots and garlic, add to the mixing bowl, whisk to incorporate all the ingredients.
• While continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle the olive oil; set aside.

Crispy leaks:

• Wash the leeks very well, cut off the root end and the leafy green tops (save them for stock), slice the leek into 1/4 inch rounds, separate the rings and place them in a bowl of cold water to remove any sand or dirt that may have been in between the layers, drain, spin dry, place in a small mixing bowl, add the cornstarch, mix well to ensure that all the leak rings are coated with the cornstarch.
• Heat the oil in a medium frying pan to 350F.
• Carefully add a small portion of the leeks and fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes), remove using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate, continue with the remaining leeks until they are all fried.

• You are ready to put the salad together.

Make:

• Drizzle the vinaigrette over the arugula, toss well to lightly coat all the leaves.
  • Greens should be only lightly dressed and not drenched in dressing.
• Place some of the dressed greens onto a salad plate or bowl then add some of the shaved fennel, orange supremes, crispy leeks, and Greek feta crumbles.

Enjoy!