Citrus Blossom Salad

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).

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 Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 15 minutes

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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.

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

Published February 6, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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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.

Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

If you want a fail-proof salad formula, with no recipe, just take a bed of greens and add a fruit, a nut, and a cheese. Drizzle with vinaigrette. This salad is a perfect proof point for that formula (which really never fails).

Happen to be planning your Thanksgiving menu? With pears, brie, and hazelnuts this dish fits right in. Looking for more of a salad-for-lunch kind of situation? Add cooked farro, which will add some heft.

Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

Published November 13, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2-4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

3-4 cups baby arugula

1 ripe bosc pear

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1/4 cup brie, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1/4 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/4 cup cooked and cooled farro, wheat berries or brown quinoa

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

Generous pinch salt

Several cracks of black pepper, plus more for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 300°F and spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Place pan in oven, and toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. The nut should be golden brown (the papery skin will be dark, and begin to blister). Remove nuts from oven, and place in a cloth kitchen towel. Rub nuts in the towel to remove the papery skins (some won’t come off, but it’s fine). Set aside to cool completely.
2. While the hazelnuts toast, place arugula in a serving bowl.
3. Slice the pear in half. Cut off the stem, and remove the seedy center. Slice pear into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange pears over top of the arugula.
4. Top with dried cranberries, farro, and pieces of brie.
5. When hazelnuts are cooled, scatter over the salad.
6. Add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of pepper to a jar/container with a lid. Place lid on jar, and shake to combine.
7. When ready to serve, drizzle vinaigrette over salad.