The first week back to work after a long break feels like the perfect time for a blood orange, walnut, and bitter greens salad. I think about food a lot (no surprise from a food blogger). I thought about food a lot before I started blogging. One of the things that I’m always curious about is the first time a human being thought to eat something. This always comes to mind for me, for example, when I eat an artichoke or some other food that seems otherwise inedible until it is transformed into something we eat. I also think a lot about food trends and how some foods aren’t regularly eaten anymore.
One of those foods features prominently in my blood orange, walnut, and bitter greens salad. The bitter greens category includes arugula, chard, and endive, but also includes dandelion greens. When I was growing up, dandelions were a weed. My grandparents, my mother, neighbors all spent a lot of gardening time trying to eradicate dandelions from the lawn and the garden. I did the same with my first house, digging them up and tossing them into the trash. At some point along the way, however, I learned that dandelions are edible. I would occasionally cultivate a few plants in my garden, harvesting the greens and sautéing them to toss over pasta. As it turns out, all the parts of a dandelion are edible, but that’s a story for another blog post.
Knowing that dandelions are edible and were, in fact, first brought to the US as a food and that dandelions evolved 30 million years ago (Wikipedia), makes me sad to think that we have relegated them to the status of a noxious weed in our gardens. Dandelion greens can be eaten raw in salads. The taste is a bit bitter, but also has a hint of taste that reminds me of the smell of a dandelion flower in the sun. The greens evoke some pretty serious nostalgia for me of lying in the grass as a kid in the summer. That memory makes this a perfect salad for a frigidly cold January day here in the PNW. It raises my hope level that spring really is right around the corner.
For now, dandelion greens feature prominently in this blood orange, walnut, and bitter greens salad. I found my dandelion greens at Whole Foods. Many natural grocers carry these greens in the winter. You can also substitute other bitter greens for this salad – finely chopped chard would be lovely, as would arugula. I also threw in a few strips of preserved lemon to brighten the salad and to add a bit of salt to cut the bitterness.
I prepared my salads for the week ahead of time. Instead of drizzling the dressing over the whole salad, I put a couple of tablespoons at the bottom of each jar and then added the salad on top. All I have to do is pour the salad out into a bowl once I’m at work.
Ingredients
- 3 peeled and segmented blood oranges
- 1 bunch bitter greens (dandelion greens, kale, or arugula or some combination of some or all)
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 10 thin slices of preserved lemon
- Juice of one blood orange
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- pinch salt
- pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss gently. Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar and close tightly. Shake to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and enjoy!
This post is linked up to No Croutons Required. Check out the hosts’ pages at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa’s Kitchen.
And is also linked to Kahakai Kitchen: Souper Sunday. Check out all the great soups, sandwiches and salads!
22 comments
Yum! Walnuts and blood oranges–you can’t go wrong with that combination! Bitter greens are so good for the digestion, too!
Thanks, Annissa. I love bitter greens for that reason – I’m definitely going to try to incorporate more of them in the new year.
I have never had any type of orange on my salads but this just sounds so yummy and would for sure give me a boost of energy after lunch to avoid that 2 o’clock slump! What other dressing could you use with this beside the one you made? I like to change my dressings up every now and then.
Thanks, Marie! I always feel so much better in the afternoon when I’ve had a salad for lunch. One of my favorite salad dressing recipe links is http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2016/04/homemade-salad-dressing-recipes.html I think a honey mustard or even a blue cheese dressing would go well with this salad. I also have a Pinterest board that’s just salads and dressing ideas – I’m on Pinterest @alittlelunch.
This salad looks yummy! I will have to try. I love the mason jars to go too!
Thanks, Rachel! The mason jar approach makes life so easy during the week – all I have to do is grab a salad and go.
Yum! This looks so good and easy to make. Healthy too! I love incorporating fruit into my salads because I feel like it gives it a refreshing taste. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Barb! Me, too – I’m really looking forward to blueberry season for that reason – blueberries are my other favorite fruit to put in salad.
This is a wonderful looking salad! I love the combo of orange and walnuts! I can’t wait to try your recipe. Thank you for sharing!~
Thanks, Ashleigh!
I love blood oranges and the combo with bitter greens sounds delicious!
Thanks, Marlynn! I really like this combo – the blood oranges really help to make the bitter greens less bitter tasting.
This salad looks delicious! Such a great way to start right off healthy this 2017.
Thanks, Kate! It’s definitely made me feel better after all the holiday food! 🙂
This sounds delicious! Perfect to start the new year off right! Being a blogger, I think about food a lot too. I even dream up recipes sometimes!
Thanks, Willow! I know the feeling – my husband is always teasing me about being food obsessed!
You’ve got great looking recipes on your blog – the thai red curry with tofu and kabocha squash looks so tasty! I haven’t had curry in a long time; definitely need to make it!
I was drooling over this. It looks so refreshing and just the thing to make me think spring on a cold day.
Thanks, Laina! I realized as I was eating it at lunch today how much I want spring to be here already. It’s so cold right now – I think 30 is our high today.
I’ve never had blood orange. I need to give it a try.
It’s a pretty salad and I definitely don’t use dandelion greens enough! Thanks for sharing with Souper Sundays this week. 😉
Thanks, Deb! I’m thinking I need to do some intentional dandelion growing this summer, too. It seemed pretty silly to buy dandelions! 🙂
I love blood oranges, but I tend to eat them all before they reach a salad, haha. This looks fab. Thanks for entering your salad into No Croutons Required. The roundup is now live.