Blood Orange Spinach Salad
When you see blood oranges in the market, pick some up to make this Blood Orange Spinach Salad!
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- zest from one orange
- ⅓ cup blood orange juice, (freshly squeezed (use the zested orange))
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, (to taste)
- 2 medium blood oranges, (peeled and segmented)
- 3 cups (5 ounces) fresh baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, (toasted)
- 4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
- In a small bowl, combine the shallots and vinegar. Let the shallots sit in the vinegar for about 20 minutes.
- Add the orange zest and juice to the shallots. In a thin, steady stream, whisk the olive oil into the shallots, whisking until the dressing is well combined. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Remove the white pith and membranes as much as possible from the segmented oranges.
- Place the spinach in a large bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat. Add in the pine nuts, gorgonzola and orange segments and toss lightly until mixed.
- Serve immediately, drizzling more dressing if needed.
If you’re not familiar with blood oranges, you must give them a try. They’re most often in season in the winter months. If you close your eyes and take a bite of a blood orange, you’ll absorb a mouthful of sweet-tart orange juice. Open your eyes, and you can admire its scarlet hue and pink juices, which makes it a natural beauty to include in recipes like this blood orange spinach salad.
shallots
balsamic vinegar
zest and juice from blood oranges
segmented blood oranges
extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh baby spinach
pine nuts (can sub almonds or pecans)
crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese (can sub feta cheese)
In this recipe, the spinach is accompanied by a dressing highlighted with balsamic-marinated shallots and fresh blood orange juice and zest.
Toss the dressing with fresh spinach leaves.
Then add gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts and – of course – blood orange segments. But naturally, the star of this salad is the blood orange. What a delicious piece of citrus fruit! If you don’t happen to have access to blood oranges, it’s okay to substitute regular oranges in this recipe. Enjoy!
