Getting Fresh in Winter!

Insalata di Radicchio Tardivo, Mandarine & Menta al Origano
Curly Radicchio, Mandarine & Mint Salad with Oregano

 

It's Winter- it's cold and I do not, quite frankly, often have a craving for salads... it's the soups that have their firm grip on me in the Winter I'm afraid!

But when i do make a salad, I like to make something I wouldn't normally eat in the Summer- and of course, I like to use whatever was fresh at the market... like this lovely Tardivo radicchio and the first of the mandarin oranges that have arrived here from Sicily this year...

 

I also do not like to make too much of a fuss about salads- I like to just pick ingredients and flavors that go well together, compliment each other and do all the hard work for me!

 

For 2 good portions of salad, I needed just 1 radicchio, 2 mandarin oranges, some fresh mint, a good olive oil and some dried oregano. And very little fuss!

 

There is nothing that needs to be prepared here, other than chopping the stalk off of the radicchio, plucking the leaves of mint, peeling the oranges and separating the segments... the rest is just assembly and seasoning! Great!

 

No need for complicated vinaigrettes or dressings- everything happens right there on your serving platter. First of all arrange your ingredients decoratively- all except for half of one of the oranges, which you will squeeze out over the salad, getting everything nice and moist. Next, season with salt and pepper and follow this by a nice drizzle of olive oil. Finish it all off by adding a generous sprinkle of dried oregano... and you're done!

 

It is simply the combination of sweet and juicy, slightly bitter, fresh and minty and tangy from the oregano... that just make this bundle of flavors come to life! You don't need any other fanciness or fussing of any kind at all!

 

Oh- and the fact that it is as beautiful to look at, as it is delicious to eat, is also not such a bad thing! Haha! Go make yourself some and find out... and enjoy!