Salads. When I think of salads, I think of a bowl full of leafy greens. But then there’s the antithetical pasta salad, potato salad, egg salad, or chicken salad. Guys, am I missing something? Do things become “salad” when you add mayo to them? Whatever, I digress…
This salad thinks outside the…bag? Yeah, outside the bagged salad universe. It’s time to take back the salad and make it delicious! And make it delicious using seasonal fruit, like this beautiful citrus that I bought at my local farmer’s market.
This recipe is a great excuse to try different citrus varieties that are available at your local farmer’s market or grocery store. Go beyond the navel. Try cara cara! Or tangelos! Or even blood oranges! How about mandarin? This salad includes a good mixture of all of those. When topped with mint, feta, and salty prosciutto, they’re glorious.
Let’s get to it….
Citrus Salad with Prosciutto
Serves 4
- 12 citrus fruits (variety of navel, cara cara, blood, mandarin, or tangeloes)
- 12 large mint leaves, rolled lengthwise and chiffoned
- 1/4 c. crumbled feta
- 9 slices prosciutto
- 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp orange muscat vinegar (or champagne vinegar)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1/4 tsp. of ground anise, more or less to taste (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, make your dressing: whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, honey, anise, and salt and pepper until they’ve emulsified. Toss in your minced shallots to coat and macerate. Set aside.
Wash and dry the outside of your citrus. On a large cutting board using a large and sharp paring knife, cut the top and bottom of the fruits so that the tops and bottoms are flat. Then, starting from the edge of the flat top, carefully cut the peel and pith from the fruit from top to bottom. You want the fruit to look like this:
The goal is to try and remove as much of the peel and pith and still keep as much of the flesh of the fruit intact.
Once the fruit is peeled, cut them into about 1/3 inch slices, crosswise. Arrange a layer in your serving dish and drizzle some of the dressing on top. Then continue layering with fruit and dressing until you don’t have any fruit left.
Top off the fruit with a little more dressing, then top off with the feta and mint. Place the sliced prosciutto around the plate and place one slice in the center. Garnish with a couple of mint leaves.
This salad goes great with grilled or broiled fish. Try it out and let me know how you like it!