The baby kale in this salad is joined by sweet red beets, crispy fennel and red onion. Blood orange segments and vinaigrette dress it up with sweet and tart notes, whisking away any winter blues.
Yield: 4 servings
Salad:
Rinse beets and cut off tops and ends; discard. Place beets in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. On medium high heat bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook beets until a knife pierces the beet easily, about 45–50 minutes. When done, rinse beets under cold water. When cool, remove outer skin of beets under running cool water. Slice beets in half, then thirds; chill. While beets are cooking, rinse fennel bulb and thinly slice. Next, remove the outer skin from red onion, cut in half and thinly slice. Supreme 3 blood oranges. Wash baby kale and pat dry.
Assemble salad: In a large mixing bowl add 5 oz baby kale. Add 3 tablespoons of blood orange vinaigrette and toss gently to cover leaves. Add beets, fennel and red onion. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of vinaigrette. Gently toss all ingredients.Taste. Adjust kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with blood orange segments. Add an optional surprise crunch with a sprinkling of Marcona almonds.
Vinaigrette:
In a large bowl add the blood orange juice, lemon juice and honey. Using a whisk gradually pour in the extra virgin olive oil to form an emulsion. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, stir. Add green onion, mint and blood orange zest, whisk to incorporate all ingredients. Taste. Adjust kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Place blood orange vinaigrette in a container and refrigerate.
