Last week I made a big mistake. I decided that we were going to counteract the effects of holiday season dining by eating more salads. This sounds like a sensible plan even now, but Mother Nature had something else in mind. We got hit with the same cold snap that everyone else east of the Mississippi got. When the temperature doesn't even get out of the single digits, you don't want to eat salad. You want to eat something warm. As a result, we ate out every night, I gained four pounds, and we wound up with various salad ingredients lying around the house. These were ingredients that needed to get used up quickly.
I wound up serving this salad as a side dish rather than as the Martha Stewart-origin recipe it was supposed to be. My husband really, really enjoyed it. Honestly, it couldn't be simpler. If your market doesn't carry blood oranges, use regular oranges or even tangerines - tangerines taste great.
Watercress, Blood Orange and Olive Salad (serves 4 - 6; approx. $2.01/serving)
2 bunches watercress, rough ends trimmed, roughly chopped
2 blood oranges, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cup oil-cured black olives (mine had roasted garlic)
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
Pepper to taste
Equipment:
- No special equipment is required for this recipe
- Place the watercress, orange sections and olives in the serving vessel.
- Pour vinegar evenly on the vegetables.
- Liberally sprinkle with black pepper to taste.
- Toss well and serve.
This salad looks so simple and elegant. A great choice to counter all the dinners out. :)
Posted by: Dragon | January 20, 2009 at 08:42 PM
I hope the 4 pounds is just water weight :) I'm sure it'll come right off.
Posted by: Jude | January 21, 2009 at 01:17 AM
Thanks, Dragon and Jude! Yeah, simple really sums up this salad... could even make it with regular oranges if you had to!
Posted by: Fearless Kitchen | January 23, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Mmmm, blood oranges. Their color is beautiful!
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | January 23, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Duo - Thanks! Yeah, there's just something about the color of these treats. Fortunately they taste as good as they look.
Posted by: Fearless Kitchen | February 04, 2009 at 03:05 PM