Crushable winter fruit: Blood Orange Salad

I adore blood oranges. While all manner of citrus is a welcome burst of brightness during seasonal winter eating, blood oranges in particular always call out to me from the market. They're so lush, vibrant, and well... sexy. See what I mean?

Since blood oranges are everywhere right now, here's a simple way to prepare them that's sure to please. I found this recipe via the fantastic local food blog The Arugula Files, and quickly incorporated it into our Valentine's Day meal. It's going to be a standard for us, I can already tell.

Blood Orange Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette

Adapted from The Arugula Files

For the Salad:

Mix 5 oz salad greens with 2 sliced blood oranges, 1/2 cup chopped pistachios, and a sprinkle of sliced red onion.

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Juice of half a sweet orange or one small clementine (I almost always have a pile of clementines on hand when they're in season, so that's what I use)

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon minced shallot

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste

This should be the perfect amount of dressing for a small 5 oz box of salad greens. Feeding a crowd? The dressing doubles perfectly for a larger salad.

Looking for more blood orange inspiration? Take a look at Pan-Seared Cod with Fennel and and Blood Orange Sauce, Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake, and Blood Orange Margaritas.