Blood Orange and Grapefruit Salad

I just love the abundance of citrus fruits at this time of year. They are like sunshine in the bleak winter months. Blood oranges are one of my favourite fruits and this is the perfect time to get them. I am always looking for new ways to use them and came up with this Blood Orange and Grapefruit Salad. I had some doubters around me when I presented this fresh, zingy salad but everyone who trusted me enough to give it a try loved it.

Even if you don’t fancy making this particular salad, I would strongly recommend you make the dressing. It is absolutely delicious and would be great drizzled over some nice cheese.

Now I’m waiting for rhubarb to appear in the shops, rhubarb and blood oranges are a match made in heaven!

 

Useful tips & links:

• If you cannot get blood oranges you can make this with regular oranges. However, as they are sweeter, I would use less juice and leave the honey out of the dressing.
• The key to making this a savoury dish is balancing all of the sweetness with a salty element. This is where the cheese and the olives come in. I have used this Whipped Ricotta, but you can use regular ricotta or feta cheese. The salty olives work really well here but if you don’t like them I would suggest using feta instead of ricotta as it has a stronger saltier taste.
• You need a very sharp knife to slice the fruit thinly. There are plenty of tips out there for slicing them but really if you don’t have a sharp knife you’re fighting a losing battle.
• If you fancy an alternative with meat, have a look at my Bresaola, Manchego and Blood Orange Salad.
• I may have linked to this recipe before but I think it is so gorgeous I want to share it again – Pomegranate Blood Orange Salad from Rosanna’s Kitchen.

 

Blood Orange and Grapefruit Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• The juice of ½ a blood orange
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• Salt and pepper
• ½ a red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 blood oranges
• 1 pink grapefruit
• Feta or Whipped Ricotta
• A handful of salad leaves
• 10-12 black olives
• Pistachio nuts

Method:

• If you are making the whipped ricotta you need to do this first and set aside.
• Next, make the dressing. Put the orange juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar and honey into a jar and give a really good shake to mix the ingredients together. Taste the dressing and season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Add the thinly sliced red onion to the dressing and allow them to ‘cook’ slightly in the dressing for about 10 minutes.
• Next peel and finely slice the blood oranges and grapefruit.
• Dress the salad leaves with a little of the salad dressing and arrange them on a plate. Put the finely sliced citrus fruit on top. Dot the whipped ricotta or crumble some feta on top of the fruit. Next, spoon a few of the onion slices and some more dressing on top. Finish with the olives and some pistachio nuts and serve immediately.