Easy Christmas Citrus Salad

Are you looking for something special and unique to serve at your Christmas dinner this year? Look no further than this delicious and easy-to-make Citrus Salad! Not only is it a great side dish, but it adds an element of freshness and brightness that will light up the table while still keeping tons of flavor

The long tradition of oranges at Christmas has influenced when and how we eat them, and one of the most popular Christmas dishes is a citrus salad that features oranges. It’s a fun traditional ingredient. It’s fresh, tasty, and a perfect addition to a dinner table filled with rich and delicious foods. The salad has its own flavor, with crunch, sweet, savory, and smooth components mixed into one dish. If you’re looking for a salad with both taste and tradition, the Christmas citrus salad is where it’s at!

Salad Ingredients and Recipe

• 4 cups spring mix or mixed green salad
• 1 orange sectioned (instructions below)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup cucumber sliced
• 1/2 cup soft cheese, like goat cheese
• 1/2 cup pistachios or similar nut

1. Prepare the lettuce, picking out any bad pieces.
2. Then, prepare the toppings. Slice the fruits and veggies into nice bite-size pieces. Prepare the cheese, dressing, and anything else you want to add.
3. It’s easier to layer the salad rather than tossing it with the add-ins. But hold back a little bit of each add-in to sprinkle on top, giving the salad a beautiful, finished look.
4. With this salad, save some of the best-looking oranges as a garnish and display them on the salad.
5. You can even slice some into the shape of a star, if you’re really dedicated.

Add the vinaigrette right before serving, or serve it on the side so guests can add their preferred amount. Be sure to shake the dressing right before adding to the salad.

Orange Vinaigrette Ingredients and Recipe

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, strained
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Most vinaigrette dressings have a higher oil to acid ratio, but because the orange juice is not very acidic, you need more of it (plus a little lemon) to make a solid dressing. Some recipes call for lemon or orange zest, but I find they make the salad bitter, and add extra texture that some might find surprising or unpleasant.

1. Combine all the ingredients in a salad mixer or even just a mason jar.
2. Seal, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
3. This emulsifies the dressing, and helps it stay blended longer. (It’s okay if it separates, that’s normal.)

If you don’t have a juice squeezer (and for as many lemons and oranges as I zest, I can’t believe I don’t have one) simply use the back of a wooden spoon to push the juice from the orange or lemon.

What’s a Citrus Salad?

A citrus salad is a green salad that has citrus–most often oranges, but also mandarin oranges, tangerines, or blood oranges, dressed with an orange or lemon vinaigrette. Add in the greens, a green cucumber, red fruits like pomegranates, and a handful of crunchy nuts, and you have a gorgeous dish that will quickly become a tradition at your home.

To make a really good side salad, start with fresh greens and add in fruits, veggies, cheese and nuts. Aim for something crunchy, something colorful, and something flavorful. Cheese is great for texture and flavor. Nuts bring the crunch, and the fruits and veggies add the color, more flavor, and round out the dish.

As a tip, avoid fruits that go bad quickly such as bananas, or that are messy, such as cherries or blackberries, or that are out of season, since they may not taste as great. But do choose one or two fun or fancy toppings to make the salad exiting and special, something like pomegranates or pistachios.

Here’s my favorite take on the salad, along with the delicious vinaigrette. Below, I’ll provide some more variations to help you find out what works best for you!

How to Section an Orange

It’s fine to peel an orange and add it to the salad simply. But if you want to take it to the next level, it’s not hard to section an orange and make it look as good as it tastes.

Simply peel the outside of the orange, and then slice it in half lengthwise. From the outside, look at the orange and you’ll see the membranes that create each section. Slice directly next to the membrane, on each side, and remove the fruit.

What Else Can I Add?

This salad is based on green, red, and gold/white add-ins. Think of foods like green apples, kiwis, green grapes, or cucumbers. Red foods like pomegranates, raspberries, dried cranberries, or red grapes. Citrus like clementines, mandarins, blood oranges, tangelos. A creamy goat cheese a sharp Gorgonzola cheese, or a salty feta, would all be wonderful in the salad. And pistachios, almonds, or pecans make for a great final touch.

Storage

This salad will last three days without dressing added, and two with. The vinaigrette will stay fresh in the fridge for about ten days.

So Why Are Oranges Associated with Christmas?

Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas, who began his career bringing presents to kids by helping young women in his town. As the story goes, he dropped three gold balls into the stockings of three young women. They were about to be married and the money he gave them helped them avoid that fate. So, oranges are a wonderful symbol of Christmas. Around the 1800s, people loved giving them as gifts, or putting them in stockings. In “the bleak midwinter” the vibrant, succulent citrus was a spot of sunlight and happiness.

In the Great Depression, money was scarce and parents couldn’t afford gifts. An orange all the way from Florida was a great treat and something kids looked forward to. So, when you eat your salad this Christmas, take a moment to look back on the tradition of giving gifts, and be grateful for all that you have.