Six Citrus Salad

I'm ready for summer. At UCSD, we're in the middle of week eight with three more to go. Most of my friends are done with school...one of the cons of the quarter system. Summer seems so close yet SO FAR at the same time. It's not that I don't like my classes; I really love learning about wildlife conservation, writing about California condors, and hearing lectures about cathedrals and castles that I've visited while studying abroad. It's just that I'm ready for something new... and a break from studying.

I have to be honest. I didn't make this salad over the weekend, in fact I didn't make this last week. This recipe and these pictures are from a month ago. We were visiting our friends and they wanted us to bring something green. I was at the produce market and saw how great the citrus looked and decided to make this salad.

The Ingredients

your favorite mixed greens

olive oil

salt and pepper

four lemons

one lime

two navel oranges

two cara cara oranges

two blood oranges

one grapefruit

1/2 cup feta

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts

handful of blackberries

The Method

Toast the almonds in a pan on medium low heat to bring out their nutty flavor.

Make the dressing by juicing the lemons and lime; you'll get about 1 cup of juice.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and drizzle in olive oil to taste. I put into about 3/4 cup of the olive oil but if you prefer a less acidic dressing add more olive oil that's why I didn't specify an exact amoung. Whisk to combine.

The next step is to segment (technically supreme) the rest of the citrus. With a pairing knife, cut off the top and the bottom of the fruit, just the white pith. Place the orange on an end and carefully make vertical slices separating the fruit from the pith.

Be sure to make curved cuts with your blade to minimize fruit loss. Take the fully peeled fruit in your hands and make a cut on each side of the membrane to loosen the orange segment.

Have a bowl underneath as you cut to catch the segments. If you don't get the hang of it right away, don't worry you have six other fruits to practice on.

Having the different citrus fruits give you a variety of colors and flavors. The navel oranges are the classic oranges. The cara cara navels are pinkish in color and have a blackberry undertone. Blood oranges are one of my favorite fruits; they have a deep crimson color with raspberry-like flavors. To balance out the sweetness, the grapefruit gives a pleasant bitterness to match with the bitterness of the greens.

The last step is to assemble the salad as a whole. In a large bowl, loss the greens with just enough dressing to coat. Add three fourth of the feta, almonds, cranberries and citrus segments. Toss to combine and add the blackberries, and remaining feta, almonds, cranberries, and citrus on top of the salad. Crack some black pepper over to finish.

It was so fun to hang out with everyone. We played a version of charades with two teams. Each round, each team picks any word for any player on the opposite team to act out. Sounds really easy but let's just say words like agility, niche, and valor don't have hand motions. My friend, Andrew Ruiz, who is an amazing photographer struggled for a minute and a half on the world "eco-friendly."

This salad is a great connection between the late winter-spring citrus fruits and the start of summer berries. It kinda fits where I am now: its spring and I'm in school but mentally I'm in summer mode.

Recipe by Spencer Huey