Ruby grapefruit, navel orange & fennel salad

This is probably the most refreshing salad I have ever made. It works best as a side salad and particularly something quite rich or sweet. I made it to go with these sticky ribs and the acid from the citrus fruits just helped cut through the sweet and spicyness. Plus it is so low in calories that you don't feel too bad about having a few more helpings.
I used a whole fennel bulb in this salad. I know lots of people who don't like the taste of fennel as they are not fans of the aniseed flavour however I encourage you to try this as the sweetness of the fruits really counters the aniseed and makes it really mild. I don't like licorice but I love the fennel in this dish. You need to have a pretty sharp knife - I use it to finely cut the bulb into thin slivers. Then I grabbed 2 ruby grapefruits and 1 navel orange and cut them into beautiful segments. Reserve the juice from the fruits - I normally have about half a cup of juice from the remainder of the fruits after I segment them. Then, I julienned half a carrot and sliced a quarter of a spanish onion.
Layer a plate with fennel and spoon about a third of the juice over the fennel. This will help soften the fennel and also keep it from oxidising. Then layer the carrots, grapefruit and orange pieces followed by the spanish onions. With the rest of the juice, add a couple of tbspn of EVOO, a tspn of dijon mustard, and salt and pepper and mix together. Dress the salad and top with some fennel fronds. Leave to sit for about 5 mins for the dressing to soak into the fennel which will help make the fennel aniseed much more milder.
If you like this salad and want another idea with ruby grapefruit, try this wonderful Salad of grapefruit, beetroot, & snowpeas.