Blood Orange, Fennel, Watercress and Feta Salad

They say you eat first with your eyes, which is possibly why I find this blood orange, fennel, watercress and feta salad so tempting. Just look at all those vibrant colours scattered around the plate. I’m not really sure where I first got the idea for this, but I Googled around before making it to check this wasn’t a completely mad combination of ingredients. It wasn’t, and the result really does taste as good as it looks. Crunchy aniseed fennel, sharp, sweet juicy blood orange, peppery watercress and salty creamy feta. I had this for lunch two days in a row and will be doing so many more times while the blood oranges are still in season.

Braised Pork Cheeks with Blood Orange and Chilli

The terrible pictures are back, did you miss them?

I am incredibly easy to influence, my subconscious soaks up anything I’m exposed to like a thirsty sponge. If I’m watching TV and someone has a cup of tea, I will want a cup of tea. If in the next scene they’re drinking a glass of orange juice I will want a glass of orange juice. Sometimes just asking me if I want something is enough to plant the suggestion in my head that I do.

So when a few weeks ago two separate blog posts from Carla at Can be Bribed with Food and Helen at Food Stories both appeared in my Google Reader with recipes for slow braised pork cheeks in blood orange and chipotle I knew exactly what I had to do.