The most stunning salad...
In the winter, when citrus starts to show up in markets, it makes my heart sing. When we used to live in Northern California, where most of the citrus I still buy is from, we could go to any farmers market and buy bushels of fruit. It was usually sold next to avocados, because they have a similar growing season. Citrus and avocados go together like peanut butter and jelly. They’ve been grown together and served together for hundreds of years. So why disrupt nature’s flow?
Cutting citrus into segments or wheels can be intimidating. But don’t let it be, it’s not hard! Here is a great link from Epicurious that describes how to do both. Wheels are cut when you just remove the outer skin and pith of the citrus with a small pairing knife, and then you cut the fruit into circles or wheels. Segments, or supremes as they’re called in French cooking, are cut by removing the outer skin and pith of the citrus with a small pairing knife, and then you use the same knife to cut just inside the white membrane that secures each segment of citrus to the rest. If you slice right inside the membrane on both sides, the fruit should just slide right out.
Making salad dressings is one of my favorite things to do. I love the simplicity of it, and how you can tweak small ingredients like the type of vinegar, or the addition of citrus zest, to get a very different outcome. I also love how different oils add different elements, from flavor to texture. For example, olive oil adds flavor, but it also solidifies in cold temperatures, like your fridge. And too much olive oil, can be bitter. Avocado oil if neutral in flavor, but incredibly light and it ass amazing body and texture to dressings. And because it’s so low in saturated fat, it doesn’t solidify in cold temps. For these reasons, I usually use a blend of both in my dressings.
This dressing is a classic blend of some really simple ingredients: citrus juice (which you get by squeezing the membrane of the citrus after extracting the segments), garlic, honey, Dijon, oils, salt and pepper.
Citrus & Avocado Salad
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 45 min
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Salad
- 5 to 6 medium or large citrus – I recommend a blend of cara cara orange, navel orange, blood orange and pink grapefruit
- 2 medium avocados
- Flaky sea salt like Maldon (optional, you can also use kosher salt)
- Pepper – freshly cracked if you have a mill
- Micro beet greens, or mixed herbs
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon packed citrus zest (I recommend a little from each fruit you’re using)
- 1/4 cup fresh citrus juice (same as above)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup avocado oil – or another neutral oil like canola or grape seed
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
1. zest some of the citrus using a microplane or another zester. If you don’t have one, use a vegetable peeler and peel the very outer skin off and then finely chop it. Put it in a mixing bowl for the salad dressing and set aside.
2. Cut the citrus into segments and wheels. See my notes below for more instruction.
3. Cut the avocados into slices.
4. Assemble the avocados and citrus on a serving platter.
5. Make the vinaigrette by whisking the zest and juice with the remaining ingredients. Adding the oil last will help the dressing emulsify, or stay blended.
6. Pour the dressing over the salad. Sprinkle with flaky salt and pepper.
7. Garnish with micro greens or herbs and enjoy!
Notes
If you’re just learning to segment citrus, I recommend starting with a pink grapefruit. They’re large in size, and that will make them easier to practice with.
Blood oranges are typically small and are better for wheels.
Always zest your citrus before cutting into it.
Cutting citrus into segments or wheels can be intimidating. But don’t let it be, it’s not hard! Here is a great link from Epicurious that describes how to do both.
Wheels are cut when you just remove the outer skin and pith of the citrus with a small pairing knife, and then you cut the fruit into circles or wheels.
Segments, or supremes as they’re called in French cooking, are cut by removing the outer skin and pith of the citrus with a small pairing knife, and then you use the same knife to cut just inside the white membrane that secures each segment of citrus to the rest. If you slice right inside the membrane on both sides, the fruit should just slide right out.
