Beautiful to look at and refreshing to eat, this Citrus Salad with Almonds & Feta is a lovely summer salad.
This salad is so striking to look at, as well as so full of bright flavors, that I find it best served solo. No, it isn’t hearty enough to be a main dish, but it deserves its own time in the spotlight. Present it as your first course (or second, if you’re going with a multi-course meal), and enjoy all it has to offer before you move on to your entree.
The original post from June 2020
It’s summer! While I’m excited for the arrival of summer, living in Arkansas is definitely different than New Hampshire. See, in New Hampshire, right about now the temperature would start to hover in the 80s. In Hot Springs, we’ve been using the air conditioning since the beginning of May. Here, the heat of summer arrives in late spring, which is totally fine with me.
Along with summer starting sooner, it seems that the dog days arrive sooner and probably will last much longer. In early June we had a three or four day spell of temperatures in the upper 90s with high humidity. Being perpetually cold I didn’t mind it too much, but it definitely was a new experience. I’m interested to see what July brings.
With this longer period of heat and humidity, instead of the short New England version, I’ve been thinking about salads and lighter meals more frequently. While Caesar salad may be my favorite, go-to choice, I can’t eat that every day. (Who am I kidding? I probably could.) However, I can’t serve it to others every day. Thus, it was time to start creating new salads.
That brings me to this week’s creation: Citrus Salad with Feta & Almonds. Although summer comes sooner here and the farmer’s market has a decent amount of produce for this time of year, it isn’t in full bloom yet. So, rather than creating a new recipe with local produce, I decided to rely on some citrus fruit to spice up the salad.
Choosing two types of oranges was almost a no-brainer. Not only do you get a contrast in color and flavor, but you also have similarly sized fruits that make for a pretty display. This checkerboard-esque salad looks almost too good to eat, but don’t let that stop you.
If you’re sharing this salad with others, be sure to bring the salad to the table (or wherever you’re eating). You want everyone to see how pretty it is before you scoop up individual servings. Yes, let them eat this salad with their eyes first to further increase their anticipation for a bite.
Citrus Salad with Feta & Almonds
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice about 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Zest of 1 lime
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 navel oranges
- Shredded lettuce
- 1/4 cup feta
- Black pepper
Instructions
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Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
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Add almonds, and cook stirring occasionally, until toasted, 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
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Combine lime juice, honey, and lime zest in a small bowl, stirring to fully incorporate the honey.
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Cut the bottom and top off of each of the oranges to create a flat surface on which to balance each orange.
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Set one orange on one of its flat edges.
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Using a paring knife, cut from top of the orange to the bottom following the outline of the fruit. Be sure to remove all of the rind and pith.
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Repeat until all four oranges have been trimmed of pith and rind.
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Place an orange on its side, and cut into 1/2” circles.
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To assemble: Sprinkle shredded lettuce on the bottom of a large serving dish.
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Layer oranges on top of lettuce, creating rows: alternating slices of blood orange and navel oranges.
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Drizzle lime juice mixture over oranges.
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Sprinkle with toasted almonds and feta.
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Season with black pepper, if desired.
