This Winter Citrus Salad is the perfect way to eat in-season citrus like blood oranges, cara cara oranges, and grapefruit! It’s topped with thinly sliced fennel, roasted pistachios, and a honey dressing. This gorgeously vibrant salad will brighten up even the coldest of winter days!
If you’ve been a longtime follower of Well and Full, you’ll have noticed I love color. Even though muted, unfiltered photo aesthetics are on trend, I always edit my photos to represent how I see colors in real life. Have you ever seen a gorgeous sunset and tried to capture it on your phone? The photo never does it justice. Colors in real life are so vibrant and rich, and I want the photos I take to reflect that. So I never tone down the vibrancy when editing my shots in Lightroom. I want the photo to be a true representation of what the dish looked like when it was photographed!
But even though I don’t tone down the vibrancy, I never add in color where there isn’t any! That is to say, the hues you see in these photos are the true colors of these foods. In this Winter Citrus Salad, I use grapefruit, cara cara oranges, and blood oranges to create a rainbow of red, coral, orange, and pink shades. Citrus fruits are so vibrant on their own, they don’t need any editing magic from me!
The taste of this salad is just as vibrant as it looks. The citruses are sweet and tangy, and the fennel is herbaceous and bright. Topped with salty, crunchy pistachios and sweet honey, it’s the flavor combination of my dreams! I know you’ll love this Winter Citrus Salad as much as I do. Enjoy! :)
If you love citrus, try this Cara Cara Orange Salad, Vegan Blood Orange Cashew Cheesecake, Pink Lemon Curd, or this Moroccan Couscous Salad with Oranges!
Winter Citrus Salad
Ingredients
- 4 Blood Oranges
- 3 Cara Cara Oranges
- 2 Grapefruit
- 1/2 Cup Roasted, Salted Pistachios chopped
- 1 Bulb Fennel
- 2 Tbsp Honey or more, to taste
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pinch Sea Salt about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp
Instructions
- To begin, prep your citrus. Wash and dry the oranges and grapefruit
- Begin by slicing off the top and bottom of the fruit, creating flat surfaces for stability. Next, carefully run your knife down the side of the fruit, following its curve, and removing strips of the peel from top to bottom.
- Once all of the rind is cut off, cut the fruit into slices. You can either keep the slices whole or cut them in half, into semi-circles.
- Then, remove the outer layer of the fennel bulb and wash the fennel well, then dry. Carefully using a mandoline slicer, slice the fennel into very thin rounds. Once you have about 1/2 cup of fennel, you can chop up it up into smaller pieces if you'd like. Or, leave the fennel as rings. (Set aside the rest of the fennel to use in another recipe, if there's any left over!)
- Lastly, prep your pistachios by giving them a rough chop.
- Arrange your oranges, grapefruit, and fennel onto a serving tray. Top with the chopped pistachios, then drizzle on the honey, olive olive, and a pinch of sea salt.
- Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Winter Citrus Salad FAQs
How do you cut citrus for a citrus salad?
To create beautiful, rind-free citrus slices, begin by slicing off the top and bottom of the fruit, creating flat surfaces for stability. Next, carefully run your knife down the side of the fruit, following its curve, and removing strips of the peel from top to bottom. Be sure to cut deep enough to remove the white pith, as it can be bitter.
What does citrus go well with?
What I love about citrus fruits is that they go with almost anything, whether it’s in a sweet, savory, or herbal context. When looking for flavor combinations, I almost always consult my copy of The Flavor Bible (HIGHLY recommend this one for any foodie). But when it comes to citrus, there are very few ways to go wrong. Here are some of my favorite flavor combinations:
SAVORY
- lemon + garlic + smoked paprika (see here)
- lemon + sesame (see here)
- lime + garlic + soy sauce + ginger
- orange + lime + scallions
SWEET
- orange + cinnamon + cardamom
- lemon + vanilla
- orange + pistachio + vanilla
- lemon + cream + brown sugar
HERBAL
- lemon + basil
- lime + basil
- orange + mint (see here)
- grapefruit + thyme
What’s the difference between an orange and a blood orange?
Blood oranges and regular navel oranges are in the same botanical family, but they have several differences. The deep crimson flesh in blood oranges is a result of anthocyanin antioxidants which regular oranges lack. This gives them a unique reddish-purple hue. Blood oranges are usually cultivated in cooler climates, which allows these pigments to develop. The flavor profile is also different – blood oranges are often more tart, and have a hint of berry flavor.
What’s the difference between a regular orange and a cara cara orange?
Again, cara cara oranges and navel oranges are in the same botanical family, but cara cara oranges are often a bit sweeter and less tart than regular ones.
P.S.
For more plant-forward recipes and New England lifestyle inspiration, be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok! If you make a recipe, please tag me in the photo and use the hashtag #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your creations!
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