Simple Salad Cara Cara Navel Orange Recipe

This recipe has all the components of a good winter salad: stiff, leafy greens; some nuts for texture; avocado and citrus. But not just any citrus! This salad uses Cara Cara oranges which are sweet, light, and less acidic than navel oranges. It's a great excuse to pick a couple of these oranges up at the grocery store tonight.

The recipe calls for this great red wine vinaigrette, too, which has shallots, Dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar. I can see that pairing perfectly with the sweet oranges and cool avocado.

Ingredients

For the red wine vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of salt

For the salad:
5 big leaves of escarole torn into bite-sized pieces
6 endive leaves sliced into pieces about 1-inch wide
3 radicchio leaves thinly sliced
1/2 medium bulb of fennel cored and sliced paper thin
2 cara cara oranges
1/2 an avocado thinly sliced and then cut again into quarters
a small handful of pecans toasted
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Make the vinaigrette. Place the shallots in a medium bowl, add the red wine vinegar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Add the dijon and whisk to combine. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Wash and dry the greens in a salad spinner. Add to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt. Add the fennel and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Supreme the oranges. Slice of both ends of the oranges to expose the flesh. Then, resting on either end, cut the rest of the peel, including the white pith, off of the oranges. Cut between each membrane and orange segment, cutting only so far as the center, which should release the orange segments.

Add to the mixing bowl along with the avocado slices. Sprinkle with salt. Pour a few tablespoons of vinaigrette around the sides of the bowl and gently toss with your hands until all of the salad is lightly coated (add a little more vinaigrette if necessary). Add a few cracks of black pepper to the salad, sprinkle the pecans over the top, and serve.

If you are looking for the perfect citrus for yourself or as a gift for a business associates, your family or friends? A quick visit to sunburstoranges.com can solve all of your fresh gift giving adventures. We sell only the finest selections and the freshest citrus you can buy.

Presented By:
Sunburst Oranges
180 South “E” Street
Porterville, CA  93257
559-561-3391