Off The Counter: Blood Orange + Pickled Shallot Salad

Citrus is at is best this time of year and my favorite is blood oranges. Their burgundy blush rinds make beautiful dishes. I’ve used them in salads for years but as of late my obsession with picked shallots has added a delightful twist to their sweetness.

Ingredients:

Blood oranges, fennel, fennel greens, pickled shallots, olive oil, white wine vinegar, sugar salt and pepper.

Instructions: (Mind you, I'm not one for measuring ingredients, so depending on the size of the salad and your preference as to just how much dressing is enough, your own judgement should come into play).

Quick Pickled Shallots: Thinly slice shallots, cover with white wine vinegar, add a tablespoon of sugar and let rest for an hour or the time it takes to prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Peel 2-3 blood oranges and cut into cubes. Thinnly slice the fennel and  arrange both in a large shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle oil olive (my new favorite it Madagascar Black Peppercorn from Amphora) and rice or grapefruit balsamic vinegar.

Garnish with trimmed fennel greens and slice citrus. Enjoy.

What are your favorite salad ingredients?

Off The Counter: Seasonal Citrus

Before my kitchen was demolished , I experimented with my favorite winter salad ingredients:  blood oranges, avocado and red onion.  Using Instagram to document my culinary exploits, I had  few people ask what type of dressing I used.  So here it comes:

Mind you, I'm not one for measuring ingredients, so depending on the size of the salad and your preference as to just how much dressing is enough, your own judgement should come into play.

Olive Oil, Orange Blossom Champagne Vinegar, Citrus Zest, and Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.  Whisk together and pour.

I'm looking forward to having a kitchen counter again.  I suspect there'll be some serious cooking in the new space.

Off The Counter: Post Holiday Salad

This week's Off The Counter features 3 of my favorite salad ingredients:  fennel, citrus and kalamata olives.  Combining them results in a refreshingly light salad that splendidly balances hearty winter meals.  Using locally harvested honey and fresh pressed olive oil (both Christmas presents given to us by Alex's West coast cousins), I created a dressing that's both mildly sweet and acidic.  Ingredients and instructions below:

Ingredients:

Blood oranges, grapefruit, fennel, kalamata olives, fresh squeezed blood orange juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

Thinly slice the fennel, peeled grapefruit and blood orange.  Arrange them on a platter and toss a handful of olives on top.  In a bowl, add olive oil and fresh squeezed blood orange juice.  Whisk in honey to desired sweetness.  Drizzle on top of salad, add salt and pepper to taste.

Many thanks to VK and AK for sharing some of nature's finest gifts with us this season.

What are your favorite salad ingredients?

Off The Counter: Blood Oranges

This week's Off The Counter features a seasonal obsession of mine, the blood orange.  Each year, about this time, the burgundy blushed rinds of this citrus wonder begin filling the produce shelves.    I recently used them in this salad.   The crimson fruit makes an absolutely beautiful dish.  Take a look:

The night I prepared the blood orange salad I also served a bowl of arugula, roasted pine nuts and shredded parmesan cheese.   The two salads tasted wonderful together, and  accompanied by a few glasses of wine, my husband's and my dinner was tasty, pretty and healthy. Our children still refuse to eat salads and we still refuse to serve them wine...

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