Blood Orange Salad With Blood Orange Vinaigrette

It’s how funny how the weather plays games! Just when I plan on posting a salad that I prepared assuming it would be warm and sunny, the weather totally flips and it’s cold, thanks to the Arctic cold front! Sigh! Anyway, I’m still going to go ahead and share this blood orange salad with blood orange vinaigrette recipe with you. Have you tried blood oranges yet? Blood oranges are originally from Sicily, but over the past few years, they have gotten pretty easy to find here in the US, though sometimes they can be quite pricey.

Blood oranges have a red colored flesh due to the presence of anthocyanin pigment. They are sweet with a hint of raspberry flavor. Blood oranges are in stores now until May. And If I spot them, I inadvertently pick up some. Then the thought crosses my mind, which I’m sure is very common amongst food bloggers, as to what you can do with that ingredient. Of course, you can just eat it, right? But no, we still want to make something with it.

Last year, I made this delicious blood orange marmalade which was really so good! And since it was a small batch, it was wiped out in a matter of days. This time I used up some of the blood oranges to make this blood orange salad dressing. As I mentioned, I’m incorporating more salads in my diet these days, so it’s all about experimenting with different salad dressing recipes. As good as a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing is, you are bound to get bored with it. Blood oranges are used two ways in the gorgeous blood orange salad. One, they are zested and juiced to make an amazing vinaigrette and second, they are then peeled and sliced to make the salad. Citrus fruits are amazing in salad dressings, I love their fresh, zingy, flavors! This blood orange olive oil dressing is such a cinch to make at home. It will brighten up even the most boring and uninteresting salad. The gorgeous and pretty pink shade is a treat to look at! For me, food is all about eating with my eyes first!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE BLOOD ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

You ought to make this refreshing blood orange vinaigrette often now that blood oranges are in season. It doesn’t need a truckload of ingredients to make this simple citrusy dressing. You will only need, Blood Oranges: The zest and freshly squeezed juice of the blood oranges. Vinegar: I’ve used red wine vinegar for this blood orange vinaigrette recipe. The sharp taste of the red wine vinegar complements the naturally sweet blood oranges. Balsamic vinegar would also be great but it would offset the color of the blood oranges and the resultant salad dressing would not have such a pretty color. If the color is of least concern to you, feel free to use a good quality balsamic vinegar. A good, aged balsamic vinegar also pairs well with the blood oranges, but you will have to add some lemon juice to increase the acidity and sharpness. Other good options to use are apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar. Oil: I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil in most of my salad dressings, but you could also use avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or any other nut-based oil. Salt & freshly cracked pepper Other ingredients: If you like a zestier salad dressing add some lemon juice. You can also add finely chopped shallots, onions, or freshly minced garlic, herbs etc. I’ve shared important notes on the storage of salad dressings with fresh garlic and herbs. Please refer to this balsamic vinaigrette post for details.

WHAT’S IN THIS BLOOD ORANGE SALAD? You will need blood oranges of course! But if you can’t find them, any other variety of orange will work just as well. Besides that, you will need some greens, spring mix, lettuce anything you like. And some nut or seeds: I’ve used walnuts today! Almonds, cashew nuts or pistachios are also lovely here! For a nut-free option, you may use sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or even some croutons for crunch. Cheese: I had picked up some mozzarella pearls that were sitting in the refrigerator! So I added them in this salad. Feta cheese, Gorgonzola or goat cheese are my other go-to options for a flavor variation in this blood orange salad Optional ingredients: Avocado: I actually wanted to add avocados, but I just forgot to pick some up! So I skipped it, I highly recommend you add some if you have. The creaminess adds a nice contrast to the citrusy flavors. Red onions: I usually love to add red onions in my salads, but I skipped it this time. Fennel: The licorice flavor of fennel works in harmony with any citrus fruit. Beet: Roasted beets are great in this salad too. The earthy, sweetness of the beets pairs well with citrus fruits too. That’s all there is to make this easy blood orange salad! I hope you will give this easy salad with blood orange vinaigrette a go. Especially, the dressing, you must definitely try that, it’s so good on any salad.

MORE SALAD RECIPES TO TRY

Strawberry Spinach Salad Caprese Salad Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad Mediterranean Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE BLOOD ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

FOR THE BLOOD ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

FOR THE BLOOD ORANGE SALAD 1.Make sure the greens are dry. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss the greens gently with your hands.

2.Transfer the greens to the serving platter, place blood orange slices, sprinkle nuts, cheese and other ingredients (diced avocado/sliced fennel/red onions etc), if using all over the greens.

3.Drizzle some more dressing and serve immediately. Do not dress the greens/salad until ready to serve or else the greens will wilt. Prep all the ingredients and prepare the salad just before serving. You will need about 1/2 of the dressing quantity for this recipe, you may refrigerate the remaining up to a week or scale the dressing recipe to half.