Dairy-Free / Dinner / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy

Late-Winter Citrus Salad

Hello Lovelies!  Just a quick recipe post today for your perusal.

Now I don’t know about you, but I love winter.  I know, I know, it’s pretty much everyone’s least favorite season, but what can I say?  I love the cold, gray weather (not to mention, the holidays!)  One thing I definitely miss about spring and summer during the winter months though, is all the lovely warm-weather produce.  You all know the love I have for salads, and the produce pickings can get kinda slim during the winter months when I’m looking to live outside the winter root vegetable box.

Enter: this salad. It’s a perfect cure for the winter-salad blues.  It’s a bright, full-flavored reminder that, even though winter will eventually come to an end (yes, I realize I am the only person who gets a little sad about this), along with the end of winter comes produce stands overflowing with delicious summer fruits and veggies.  (Strawberries, oh how I’ve missed thee!)

So for those of you who perhaps don’t relish the colder months like I do, make this salad and take it as a little reminder that spring is just around the corner.

Late-Winter Citrus Salad

Adapted from a salad I had at some restaurant one time…

serves 2

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Butter lettuce (one bag, or one head – cored, torn, and washed)
  • 1 chicken breast
  • 3 thin slices of prosciutto
  • 3-4 thick slices of bread, cubed (I use sourdough)
  • handful of sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 – 1 cup of citrus fruit, chopped (you can use oranges, mandarin oranges, tangerines, grapefruit – whatever strikes your fancy)
  • Olive oil
  • Vinegar (a mild, slightly sweet vinegar works best for this)
  • Salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat chicken in olive oil, salt, and pepper; place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, 30-35 minutes.  Toss bread in olive oil, salt and pepper, then place on baking sheet with prosciutto and bake, 12 minutes (until bread and prosciutto are crispy).  I just add the bread and prosciutto to the chicken pan when there’s 12 minutes left on the timer for the chicken — less dishes!  *make sure the prosciutto is all in one layer on the pan, otherwise it won’t get crispy
  2. In a large bowl, add lettuce, sunflower seeds, and citrus.  When finished cooking, add croutons, crumbled prosciutto, and chicken (cubed).
  3. Toss the whole lot with 1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 tablespoon olive oil + salt + pepper.

Yum!  It’s salty, it’s sweet, it’s bright and citrusy… What more could you want?  Well, maybe a glass of wine to go with it.  Oooh, wine…

So you want to know my secret weapon for this salad?  What makes the whole thing taste like a warm summer day in the middle of winter?

Ok, I’ll tell you.

That’s right, TJ’s orange-champagne vinegar.  It’s freaking delicious!  If you live near a Trader Joe’s, I’d highly recommend picking up a bottle and whipping up this salad.  (And maybe add some avocado to it, that would be extra tasty!)

Alright, I’m off to raid the fridge for some dark chocolate.  Or maybe have a glass of wine.  Maybe both!  Go big.  Ciao!