Citrus Blossom Salad

Citrus Blossom Salad with Walnuts + Feta

In the middle of winter, most salads fail to hit the spot because the produce isle is generally sad and farmers markets are closed (though this roasted sweet potato and kale salad is usually a good bet). Around January citrus finally hits the shelves, freshly picked and shipped from warmer climates. It’s in that window that this salad should take the spotlight, a perfect stage for citrus varieties you can’t easily find other times of the year.

Orange flower water adds a subtle, elegant twist to the vinaigrette in this recipe (and also how it got its name). It smells incredible and one bottle will last you forever (plus, you’ll be one step closer to making baklava).

Citrus Blossom Salad with Walnuts + Feta
Citrus Blossom Salad with Walnuts + Feta

Serve this salad with with roasted chicken, a panini, or a warm stew like tagine to make a meal.

Citrus Blossom Salad

Published January 4, 2021 by
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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 15 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 1 head tender romaine lettuce, washed and spun or patted dry
  • 3 oranges (for a fun pop of color, mix-and-match a variety of oranges: cara cara oranges for pink, blood oranges for deeper red, valencia/navel for traditional orange)
  • ¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1/2 cup feta crumbles
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves
  • Optional: Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

  • For Orange Blossom Vinaigrette:
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon Orange Blossom Water (affiliate link)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • Directions:

    1. Arrange lettuce on 4 plates, optionally tearing with your hands to remove any tough stem pieces.
    2. Segment the oranges by slicing off the peels with a knife, and then carefully cutting segments out from between the pith. It can be helpful to do this over a bowl, to catch any juice. Reserve the left over pieces — we’ll use them to make the vinaigrette. Here is a good video on how to do this. Arrange orange slices over the lettuce.
    3. Sprinkle walnuts and feta over each salad, and sprinkle with parsley.
    4. Prepare vinaigrette: Squeeze as much juice from the remaining orange pieces into a bowl. Add salt, orange blossom water and olive oil, and whisk to combine. Drizzle to taste over salads.
    5. Top with freshly cracked pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

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    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    You would think, with the full day spent at home, I would feel like I have plenty of time to spare now. But somehow, that’s not the case. When I think about my time two months ago, I find myself wondering how I did it all—schlepping from one place to the next. We have been staying busy, mostly with house projects, which has likely benefited my sanity.

    Stir fry is a go-to for me when I need dinner fast, and stir fry doesn’t have to be served over rice. This dish is essentially a stir fry, but soba noodles transform it into something different. Quick and easy—but also full of colorful veggies—this has been a regular lately. Like most stir fries I make, this one is cooked with soy sauce, rice wine, and sambal oelek (that chili garlic paste you’ll find in the ethnic food isle in the grocery store). It’s a salty-acidic-spicy sauce combination that isn’t just limited to this recipe: use it any time you’re sautéing veggies and want a little extra punch.

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls
    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Published April 30, 2020 by
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    Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1/2 package soba noodles
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 zucchini, roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 2 large carrots, sliced into matchsticks
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup shelled fresh or frozen shelled soy beans (mukimame)
  • 4-5 leaves dino (or lacinato) kale, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili garlic sauce)
  • 1 green onion, sliced for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish

  • Directions:

    1. Cook soba noodles according to instructions on package. When noodles are al dente, strain through a colander and set aside.
    2. While noodles cook, sauté vegetables: heat coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok. When oil glistens, add zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, ginger, and garlic, and sauté until zucchini just starts to turn become tender. Add soy beans.
    3. In a jar, combine soy sauce, cooking rice wine, cornstarch, and samba olek. Shake or whisk to combine.
    4. Pour half of sauce into skillet, and allow sauce to bubble for a few minutes. Sauce will begin to thicken.
    5. Add cooked noodles to the pan, along with chopped kale. Using tongs, mix everything to incorporate the vegetables into the noodles.
    6. Add remaining sauce to pan, and cook for 3-5 more minutes, staring occasionally to ensure everything is coated in sauce. Remove from heat, and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.

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    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    It is rare to find an exciting vegetable in the grocery store in the middle of February. It’s all orange-green tomatoes, rock-hard avocados, and kale. This month, however, I was planning a crunchy root salad already when I came across pink daikon radishes. I paused for a minute, knowing that likely, not everyone that reads this blog will be able to find pink daikon radishes. But I bought them anyways, because their brink color was irresistible. Yes: you can use any sort of radish instead. Regular white daikons. Watermelon radish would be pretty. Easter egg radishes. Red cherry radishes. They will all work, and taste just about the same. I just fell in love with how bright and fresh the pink looked, and how it added little pops of pink to this salad. 

    Radishes, like many root vegetables, are a good fall back this time of year when little else is fresh or ripe. And while it’s easy to think of root vegetables as potatoes and yams, this salad proves that root veggies can also make a refreshing, bright, and light salad, too. Serve as a side with pulled pork, brisket, chili, or even a panini. 

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette
    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Published February 6, 2020 by
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    Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup radish, peeled and julienned (pink daikon radish, daikon radish, watermelon radish, or red radishes)
  • 1/3 cup cucumber, julienned
  • 1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
  • 1 golden beet, peeled and julienned
  • 2 tablespoons minced parsley 
  • Black pepper to taste

  • For vinaigrette:
  • Juice from 1 Meyer lemon 
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey 
  • 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard 
  • Generous pinch of salt 

  • Directions:

    1. Combine all julienned vegetables and parsley in a medium-sized salad bowl.
    2. In a jar, combine all ingredients for vinaigrette. Place lid on jar and shake to emulsify.
    3. Drizzle vinaigrette over vegetables to taste (you may not need all of the vinaigrette) and toss to coat. Season to taste with pepper.

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