Last night’s dinner was a really delicious early-spring salad. The citrus in our yard is just getting ripe enough to eat, and I had some beets and fennel to use, so I made a up yummy recipe to share. The flavors are bright and zesty, and marinating the beets in a little seasoned rice vinegar give them an extra pop.
Citrus, Beet, Avocado and Fennel Salad
A bright and zesty early spring salad
Ingredients
Method
Step 1
- Roast your beets. I wrap mine in a small piece of tinfoil each and put them in the oven (or toaster oven) at 425º for 45 minutes, or until it is easy to prick with a fork. When the beets are done cooking and have cooled slightly, run under cool water and slip off the skins. Then dice into 1/2-3/4" cubes.Optional: toss the cubed beets in a bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar, or cider vinegar with salt and sugar to taste. Marinate while you make the rest of the salad. This will give them a bright, pickled flavor.
Step 2
- Make the dressing. I like to use a small mason jar and just add all the ingredients and shake. Start with 3 Tbsp. olive oil, and add 1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice. Using a microplane, box grater or handheld cheese grater, zest about 1 tsp. from one of your oranges and add to the dressing. If you've got some mint handy, sliver 8-10 mint eaves and add. Then season with honey, salt and pepper to taste. Shake or whisk until well combined.
Step 3
- Prepare the salad ingredients. Supreme or peel your citrus, halve and slice thinly. To do this, I slice the peel from each end to create a flat surface. I rest the fruit on one flat end and use my knife to slice off the peel, taking care not to cut too much of the citrus flesh. Then I cut the pith from the middle. Cut your avocado in half, remove the peel and slice lengthwise in long slivers. Then prepare your fennel: cut the top greens and the base to remove any tough or inedible parts. Then cut the bulb in half and slice very very thinly with a knife, or use a mandolin. I hand-sliced mine.Roughly chop any herbs you want to add to the salad. Wash and dry the salad greens if necessary. I used a combination of spring mix and baby spinach, but you can use any lettuce, spinach or kale. I used about 1 cup per person, but you can vary according to the size salad you want.
Step 4
- Put it all together! You can either put everything together in a large salad bowl and toss, or plate individually. If you opt for one big bowl, start with the greens and top with fennel, citrus, avocado and herbs if using. Drizzle with dressing and toss. Then add the beets last, blend slightly, and top the whole dish with the goat cheese and chopped walnuts. (Otherwise, everything will be pink, which is fine too, but adding the beets last preserves all the other colors). If you plate the salads individually, toss the greens with half the dressing and add to the individual plates, then arrange the remaining ingredients as desired, and drizzle with the second half of the dressing.
1 COMMENT
Barbara Tenley
2 years agoI love the citrus salad. I copied it & hope to make it soon. You always have great recipes.
Love ya,
A Barb