Winter Citrus Chop Salad
This chop salad is straight forward. It doesn't require a formal recipe but it deserves to be presented in recipe form to celebrate winter's abundance. It’s the salad I’ve been making on repeat for the last month. It’s versatility has been tested, and my conclusion is that it’s as easy to pull together in a small mountain cabin kitchen as it is at home.
I feel like people think winter produce is lacking and underwhelming. But I love the fruit and bitter greens that come to life in the cooler months. I'm thinking Cara Cara oranges, pomelos, persimmons, radicchio, frisee, escarole, and interesting mustard greens like tatsoi. As an aside, the name "bitter greens" is kind of a misnomer, as most of the bitters I mentioned aren't actually that bitter in flavor the way say, broccoli rabe is. But if you play it right, the bitterness that is present will be a welcome contrast to the other salad ingredients. And many of these greens are hearty enough to wilt into a stew and mild enough to eat raw, the latter of which we're doing in this salad.
This Winter Citrus Chop Salad is a vehicle for delivering all the juicy sweetness of Cara Cara orange segments, fresh crunch from escarole and radicchio, and buttery flavor from pistachios and avocado. Fresh mint and a simple dressing with white wine vinegar, the juice squeezed from the orange after segmenting, and whole grain mustard bring it all together. If you can get Cara Cara oranges, their gorgeous salmon pink-orange color and low-acid sweetness are a delicious twist. But navel or blood orange or pomelos are really nice here too. I was pleasantly surprised to find speckled radicchio at the market but purple radicchio is just as lovely. As the recipe name suggests everything is chopped. But I like to leave some of the radicchio leaves whole for presentation and because it's fun to pick up a leaf and the goodies on top and it eat like a taco.
Winter Citrus Chop Salad
Serves 4 small or 2 abundant salads
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (or 2-3 tsp. Dijon mustard)
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Cara Cara oranges
1/2 medium head escarole, roughly chopped
1 small radicchio, roughly chopped (or keep some pretty leaves whole)
1 medium avocado, large dice
Handful of salted pistachios
Small handful fresh mint leaves (10-15 leaves, roughly torn if large)
In the bottom of a large serving bowl, mix together vinegar, mustard, olive oil and salt. Segment the oranges directly over the bowl to catch the juice and drop the segments directly in with the dressing. After segmenting one orange, squeeze membranes to release remaining juice into bowl. Do not squeeze the second orange or it will dilute the dressing.
Add chopped escarole, radicchio, avocado, pistachios and mint to the bowl, reserving a few mint leaves and pistachios for the top. Mix gently to combine until everything is evenly coated in dressing, then scatter around remaining mint and pistachios. Serve immediately.