Winter Citrus Salad

Consider this salad your reward.  Your reward for surviving a hard week filled with a late-night trip to the animal hospital, three sleepless nights in a row, some not-so-great medical news about your cat, and lots of worrying. This salad is for you, stressed-out mama.  So put your feet up.  It's the weekend and you deserve this.

This salad is uber-simple to prepare, but the results are worth it!  Start off with some roasted citrus fruit (inspired by Joy) drizzled with olive oil.  Add in some freshly-ground rosemary and black pepper with just a touch of salt. Serve this over a bed of dressed baby kale or arugula. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds over the top.  And you have yourself a salad.

This recipe is loose and can be adapted in many different ways.  I happened to have some fresh pineapple, an orange, and a pomelo (Asian citrus fruit) on hand, but this would be absolutely gorgeous with blood oranges.  I tossed my greens with just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, but if you are using a tart fruit like grapefruit, a little pure maple syrup mixed in with the olive oil would be simply divine.

Winter Citrus Salad
Serves: you

2 - 3 types of citrus fruits (or a tropical fruit like pineapple)
Olive oil
A sprinkle of dried rosemary
Freshly-ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 - 2 cups of salad greens
A handful of almonds
A handful of pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Segment the citrus by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit then cutting away the peel and pith of the fruit.  Slice in-between the segments to remove any of the white skin in the middle of the fruit.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, black pepper, and sea salt.  Roast for about 20 minutes.

Toss salad with a little olive oil and additional pepper, if desired.  Top greens with roasted fruit, nuts, and seeds.  Enjoy.