Breaking My Rules

Its January, so for most that means limited fresh produce that hasn't been flown in from miles away. In Puget Sound, we're lucky to have root vegetables, greens, and plenty of apples and pears available from nearby farms. But if you're anything like me, apples and pears are all the fruit you've been eating for months. So each winter when the Meyer lemons and blood oranges appear, I can't help but breaking my rules about shopping local and buying all the gorgeous California citrus fruit I can fit in my basket.



A post for a savory winter fruit salad had caught my eye this week and I found it was full of oranges and grapefruit! So with a pizza in the oven for lunch, I pulled some oranges from the bowl of brightly colored orbs. I made quick work of peeling, chopping and slicing and found the reward of bright citrus would have been worth much more effort.



This citrus salad has flavor profile similar to a salad I've made each winter when fresh produce is lacking. The salad was inspired by an article in the February 2008 issue of Food & Wine about the Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine. For the salad, toss grapefruit segments, sliced red onion, toasted walnuts, and hearty lettuces with sherry vinaigrette. Use a nice walnut oil in the dressing if you've got it.

Citrus Salad
Adapted from Mark Bittman in The New York Times
Serves 2

This salad should serve two, but E had one tiny little orange wheel and I polished off the rest.

Ingredients
2 blood oranges
1 orange
1/4 small red onion, sliced thin
Salt
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

Peel citrus, removing as much pith as possible, and slice into wheels. Remove any pits, layer fruit on a serving dish, sprinkle with salt and garnish with sliced onion.
Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, and any accumulated orange juice until well combined
Drizzle over salad
Top with cilantro