Blood Orange, Puntarelle & Cumquat Salad
No, this salad has nothing to do with television vampires, but it does have a lot to do with wonderful Sicilian blood oranges and refreshing Roman puntarelle! Now there is a match made in heaven for you! Sure to chase away any of those Winter clouds and replace them with sparkling sunshine! No fear of any vampires showing up when you make this!
Puntarelle are one of my favorite salad greens- originating from around Rome and its valley's, this cousin of the chicoree that we are all accustomed to, it is just much prettier, with its small and juicy, slightly bitter pods. Perfect at any time of year, this cold and snowy January morning in Frankfurt, they were just the thing to brighten my day- and my evening too come suppertime!
Puntarelle are one of my favorite salad greens- originating from around Rome and its valley's, this cousin of the chicoree that we are all accustomed to, it is just much prettier, with its small and juicy, slightly bitter pods. Perfect at any time of year, this cold and snowy January morning in Frankfurt, they were just the thing to brighten my day- and my evening too come suppertime!
I decided to halve the puntarelle for this salad- which still leaves plenty to bite into! I wouldn't cut them any smaller though, as I think it would be a shame not to see their pretty shape anymore.
For the blood orange, I decided to cut the peel away, making sure to use a sharp knife, then to top and tail the orange as if were intending to filet it, but then cut the orange through its width instead, preferring the look of the radiating segments in each slice... but that was just my personal preference today... filets are also fine! But they are also a little bit more work! ;-)
For the blood orange, I decided to cut the peel away, making sure to use a sharp knife, then to top and tail the orange as if were intending to filet it, but then cut the orange through its width instead, preferring the look of the radiating segments in each slice... but that was just my personal preference today... filets are also fine! But they are also a little bit more work! ;-)
I sliced the cumquats and picked out the seeds and then all I needed to do was to arrange the ingredients decoratively and to add the occasional leaf of basil here and there- basil also works wonderfully with both the citrus and the salad- yum, yum!
I kept things very simple and dressed the salad with extra virgin olive oil and honey... the seasoning was a little of my Salt of the Earth... and that was all that it needed! After all, Mother Nature had done her fair share of the work, by making the ingredients delicious, I had combined the great flavors and the proof of the salad was in the eating! There was no need for extra vinegar as the orange was sweet and sour at the same time and the seasoned salt let the natural flavors blend to wonderful effect! So go get some blood oranges and give this a go! You will like it for sure!
I kept things very simple and dressed the salad with extra virgin olive oil and honey... the seasoning was a little of my Salt of the Earth... and that was all that it needed! After all, Mother Nature had done her fair share of the work, by making the ingredients delicious, I had combined the great flavors and the proof of the salad was in the eating! There was no need for extra vinegar as the orange was sweet and sour at the same time and the seasoned salt let the natural flavors blend to wonderful effect! So go get some blood oranges and give this a go! You will like it for sure!
Gorgeous, Francesco!
ReplyDeleteI wish they would start to market puntarelle here in the US. I really miss them… :=(
I am so lucky to get them here- the indoor market in Frankfurt really is he main attraction of the whole city for me!
ReplyDeleteI should start an import business of European foods to the States ;-) for now all I can import are my posts on the web!
Best wishes- Francesco