So clearly I have not been doing much cooking lately. Or lets just say what I’ve been putting on the table for dinner is not fit for a close up of any kind. It’s gotten so bad that my poor hubs, after a long day of work, will text me on his way home to gauge whether or not he should pick up a sandwich from the corner deli. Because what I might consider a perfectly delicious dinner, he would call fridge scraps. But a sandwich with a side of fridge scraps…thats a gourmet meal right there!
The trick is to disguise your fridge/pantry scraps as something fancy – a Winter Citrus Salad perhaps. All of these ingredients have a pretty decent life span so what I usually do is get some grapefruit or other citrus for weekend breakfasts and whatever we don’t eat becomes fancy salad fixins. Pure Magic. The za’atar is optional but you can definitely find it at whole foods and its one of my favorite seasonings to add to salad dressings, hummus, tzatziki, anything. Plus it adds that final flourish.
- 2-3 tbl olive oil
- 1 cup panko
- 2 tbl za'atar*
- salt
- ¼ cup citrus juice - from whatever is going into the salad
- 1 tbl white wine vinegar
- 2 tbl dijon mustard
- ¾ cup olive oil
- lots of salt and pepper
- citrus segments - my faves are blood orange and grapefruit but use anything you like
- leafy greens - i like kale for its heartiness and arugula for its peppery bite
- To make the breadcrumbs: heat olive oil in a small sauté pan. Add the panko and za'atar and cook, stirring constantly until golden and fragrant. Remove from heat immediately and cool.
- To make the dressing: whisk together the citrus juice, mustard and vinegar. Very slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly until all of the oil has been added and emulsified.
- To segment the citrus: slice both ends off of the citrus and place one of those side down on the cutting board. Starting at the top of the fruit, cut downwards through the peel and pith, following the contour of the fruit. Rotate and repeat all the way around. Then, using a small paring knife, slice along the membranes towards the center to remove each segment. Squeeze remaining juice from what is left - keep for the dressing if needed.
- Dress the greens and either add the citrus to the bowl or for a more elegant presentation, arrange the segments once greens are plated. Finish with breadcrumbs.
Pictures look beautiful. Definitely will try this