Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Recipe: Winter Citrus Spiced Pecan Salad with Roquefort

My counter was overflowing with citrus fruits, so I decided to make them into a salad to keep life interesting.  I combined blood oranges, a regular orange and a grapefruit for a variety of color and flavor, with some bibb lettuce I had in the fridge, a shallot I had on the counter, some spiced pecans I had made and some roquefort cheese I had leftover.  I would definately reccomend making this salad if you need a little sunshine to chase away the winter blahs while you wait for spring to arrive!

Winter Citrus Pecan Salad with Roquefort

(serves 2)
dressing:
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp honey dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup pecans
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp maple sugar, or brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 head butter or bibb, or boston lettuce, washed and shredded into edible sized pieces
1 blood orange, supremed
1 orange, supremed
1 red grapefruit, supremed (Rio Star is my favorite)
1 small shallot, sliced thinly
3 oz roquefort cheese crumbled
Whisk together dressing ingredients, and set aside. Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with non-stick spray. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss together pecans, maple syrup, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne and spread out onto the prepared baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 7-10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, citrus fruits, and shallot, and toss with the dressing. Divide between 2 plates, and sprinkle roasted nuts and roquefort over the salads. Serve!

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