Spartan Daily

Winter citrus salad

Samantha Clark, Spartan Daily

A winter citrus salad with goat cheese, red onions and toasted pumpkin seeds makes for a tasty, easy and beautiful looking meal.

To take full advantage of the season, ditch the notion that healthy eating means more greens and prepare a brightly-hued citrus salad to add color to the gray bitterness that is winter.

Wow the new roommates with your gourmet cooking abilities or avoid a cold with this blast of vitamin C.

The burgundy flesh of a blood orange against pink grapefruits and navel oranges looks beautiful, so use a variety of different colored citruses.

Cut the fruit at its poles to make it stand upright, then take your knife and cut off the peel.

Cutting takes off the pith, whereas peeling the fruit leaves the bitter and ugly webs.

While keeping in mind size, texture and color, slice the fruit into disks and organize them on a large platter.

Scatter the thinly sliced red onion, chopped herb, sugar, pumpkin seeds and feta on top.

For the vinaigrette, add the salt and pepper, vinegar and honey in a small bowl.

Mix in the olive oil slowly with a fork, mix well and drizzle over the salad.

The citrus wheels platform contrasting flavors from the dressing and toppings: nutty pumpkin seeds, tarragon for a mild anise flavor, sweet honey and creamy tangy feta.

Ingredients:

5 medium to large citrus fruits (I used 2 blood oranges, 1 pink grapefruit and 2 navel oranges)

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon freshly chopped tarragon

¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

½ teaspoon raw sugar

¼ cup feta cheese, chopped or crumbled

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and pepper, freshly ground

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon honey