Spinach Feta Blood Orange Salad
My grandmother used to have a house dress, house hair, and house shoes. She made no apologies for boiling her fresh vegetables half way to kingdom come. She sat with her Bible at every spare moment.
I… well, I have a house sweater. It’s big and grey with floppy sleeves and giant buttons. It’s just a house sweater, unless of course I decide that it can handle a quick trip to the store or a quick meet with a friend. It really should stay in the house, as beat up and unattractive as it is… but sometimes it’s just too warm and cozy to part with. I don’t even want to talk about introducing the house sweater to someone that you’re dating. That’s a whole other beast to tackle.
My grandmother would support my house sweater. She’d nod in quiet understanding. She’d also love that I have her Bible on my nightstand, and I read and reread all the bits she underlined in red pen. This salad? She would not understand. It’s entirely too fresh and crisp and… unboiled. I suppose that’s the difference between her Tennessee blood and my California living.
Blood oranges are here and I couldn’t be happier. Every orange is different. The red tinting can be subtle or totally bonkers. Beauty fruit. I’m so into it!
I combined sweet blood oranges with creamy avocado, salty feta cheese, and crunchy sunflower seeds.
Spinach too. Fully of flavor and health. On the real.
This is the sort of salad that you can eat and feel like you’re indulging in a good life. Not like you’re on a diet. Not like you’re depriving yourself of peanut butter cups. This salad is a treat in itself… and totally justify peanut butter cups for dessert.
This salad was inspired by a really lovely book. Tender by Nigel Slater. It’s like an encyclopedia for vegetables with gorgeous, simple, indulgent recipes for each vegetable. I love the photographs and recipe lay outs. Very laid back and personal, but beautifully intentional. The man knows has a gorgeous respect for food.
Thanks sister! Major gift!
This recipe is in paragraph form… that means take it easy and enjoy the process. Just go with it. Don’t have feta cheese? Try goat cheese crumbles. No sunflower seeds? Toasted walnuts would be lovely. No blood oranges? Grapefruit is the way to go!
Spinach Feta Blood Orange Salad
inspired by Tender
Spinach is beautifully matched with citrus and salty feta cheese.
For each person, portion about two handfuls of clean, baby spinach. Peel and thickly slice a blood orange, or whatever citrus you have on hand. Catch as much of the juice as you can and pour it back over the salad with a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh cracked black pepper. Toss the spinach with oranges, sliced avocado, a hearty portion of feta cheese crumbles and sunflower seeds. Serve immediately and enjoy.
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I have been dreaming of this salad ever since I saw this post. I just made it and ate it, and it was even better than I dreamed! Keeping!!! Thanks for posting this recipe Joy!
That salad is proof that the simplest things can be absolutely perfect. As for house clothing in general, who needs it when you can just walk around naked? No one else is around…haha
Just came across your blog the other day thanks to pinterest and needless to say I instantly fell in love. I look forward to testing out your recipes in the near future!
thanks for the inspiration. I made a riff on this today for lunch-spinach, red pepper, walnuts, an avocado and an orange. it was great for our detox day. happy friday to you!
This salad looks amazing, and perfect for this time of year. I had my first blood orange of the year this week, it made me so happy. I think this is going on the menu this weekend. In fact, I wish I were eating it right now instead of the vegetable juice and apple I brought.
I have a house sweater, too. It’s the most comfortable thing and I love it. I don’t think my partner saw it until we were already living together…
My grandma was from Piedmont, northern Italy, not from Tennessee. But she overcooked pasta as yours overcooked vegetables, indeed. Grandmas are special. And if they’re not here, we miss them all, don’t we?
Mmmm…I’m eating this right now! I couldn’t find blood oranges in my grocery store here in Ottawa yet, so I bought some sort of fancy tangerine. Delicious!!
This salad rocked my dinner the other night– I used a spinach/arugula mix and some Meyer lemon olive oil (since I majorly failed to save any of the juice from the oranges), and it was incredible. I picked up a real tangy Bulgarian feta just for the occasion, too.
Also? I had vowed never to supreme an orange again after a particularly bad out-of-season experiment with perhaps the pithiest orange I’ve ever seen… but peeling and slicing a perfectly ripe blood orange into juicy little red disks? You’ve added a technique to my basket of orange skills (which previously only included wedging and juicing). I owe you.
Just inhaled this salad while reading the book. Super easy and I LOVE the crunch from the sunflower seeds!
Can’t wait to be doing the same thing with YOUR book when it comes out!!!
heart heart,
Kasey
This post brings back memories. My Tennessee grandmother also boils the heck out of veggies!
It looks so fresh and strengthens my desire for summer!
I’m sitting in my cubicle trying to hold back the laughter, and not succeeding! Love the way you write – not to mention your amazing food! I’m so buying your book! Congratulations on all your success!!
Mmmm. Even my diet du jour will allow this salad in my rotation. Awesome! Thanks, Joy. And let’s talk about you in Food and Wine- whoa! What a crazy-excellent way to start 2012. Congrats!
Never, ever, deprive yourself of a peanut butter cup. When you feel like doing it, remember that there are countries (such as France) where peanut butter cups don’t exist… and people (like me) will live the rest of their lifes deprived from Peanut Butter Cups. For all of us Peanut Butter Cup lovers, please have one and savor it!
This is a beautiful salad! Growing up in California I have a love of avocado and oranges. What a wonderful mix of color, tastes, and texture. I can not wait to make this. Thanks you for sharing this!
Oh. my. goodness. At the title I was like, “ehh, I do enjoy blood oranges, but I don’t enjoy spinach, but I do enjoy Joy’s writing, so let’s dig in.” Halfway through I said, “Oh my gosh, I have to make this salad for dinner.” Well done. You’re so influential. :)
Leave it to a grandmother to boil the heck out of vegetables. Cannot wait to try this fresh salad…perfect with wintery blood oranges.
this looks amazing!! i cant wait to try it!! thank u
I just made this over the weekend, and it was delicious! The only change I made was not using feta since I really hate cheese. Thanks for sharing this!!
PS: I’ve been making it with grapefruit, which I wasn’t so sure about at first, but I almost like it better than with the blood orange! So, for those of you who can’t find blood oranges, definitely try it out with grapefruit!
this would be wonderful paired with a crisp white wine…or even a oak-y chardonnay.