Happy New Year, Crasstalk! For anyone who made a resolution to eat healthier, here’s a little salad you can whip up in around 15 minutes.
I come from a big “oranges in the Christmas stocking” family. And so does my husband. I think it’s a beautiful tradition. Our respective family’s give oranges (along with a gazillion others I suspect) because in the not-so-distant past of the depression, oranges were like gold to our grandparents and great-grandparents. (Or in honor of St. Nick throwing gold into Christmas stockings in folklore. Either way, oranges equal gold, baby!)
Of course that means that we end up with a lot of oranges.
And one of my absolute favorite meals is roasted lemon chicken, where the rind is deliciously edible. So, when I was looking at my bowl of oranges I thought I’d use the technique for a salad.
Except for the fact that even though my mother had warned me that the oranges were a little tough when she gave them to me – I had spaced that. A week and a half later, they were hard as rocks.
Welp, no orange rinds for me! However I cut around the rind after roasting them, and the oranges were delicious. Sweet and a little salty. So if you have a nice soft orange – give roasting it a try. With or without the rind it’s sinfully delicious.
Combine that with tart cranberries and creamy mozzarella – and this is a salad that will make almost anyone totally happy.
Roasted Orange, Cranberry and Mozzarella Salad
Serves 2.
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 small oranges, cut into ½-inch slices
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon diced shallots
- 3 cups arugula
- Chopped fresh mozzarella
Orange and Dill Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet. Lay the oranges out and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with ½ teaspoon salt.
Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the rinds have started to brown. Flip and bake for 5 minutes more.
Let cool.
In a small baking dish, combine cranberries with remaining olive oil. Season with sugar, and remaining salt. Stir well. Bake until soft, about 5-8 minutes.
Let cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Reserve.
Roughly chop oranges, or cut oranges away from the rind.
Combine the arugula, oranges, cranberries, shallots and mozzarella on a large platter. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Serve immediately.
