Day 276: Watercress, Clementine & Blue Cheese Salad ♥

Winter salads are so wonderful! This salad is a simple combination of watercress (or arugula or another salad green) with tangerine and blue cheese crumbles, way more than a sum of its parts. The dressing has citrus flavor too, boosted by a spoonful of orange juice concentrate, one of my favorite ingredients. Seasonal. Easy Weeknight Supper. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly & Freestyle Friendly. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free.

This salad is so simple and sooo good. Call it "my favorite new salad".

It had me dreaming! It had me planning a 6am grocery run! Better yet: I just talked to the produce manager by phone. The beautiful bags of watercress he found in the back for me yesterday for $2 a bag are expired now so he's going give me whatever I want for a buck! We'll be wallowing in watercress for a few days! Any ideas? What would you do? And can I preserve it somehow?

The magic is in the combination of the peppery watercress with the tang of tangerine (spiked up with orange in the bare amount of dressing) with the stinky sour of the blue cheese. Heaven on a plate.

Portion size is interesting here. Eight ounces of watercress and a single tangerine and a single tablespoon of blue cheese would generously serve four. But for a dinner party, or some special meal, this is so flavorful that truly, it'd serve eight. At the same time, it absolutely qualifies as something so good one could "easily make a meal out of it".

RECIPE for WATERCRESS, CLEMENTINE & BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4 or 8 (or 1?)

DRESSING
1/2 tablespoon good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

SALAD
8 ounces fresh watercress
2 green onions, chopped
1 tangerine, sections cut in thirds
1 tablespoon blue cheese crumbles

DRESSING Whisk together the dressing ingredients.

SALAD Toss the watercress and green onions with the dressing. Sprinkle tangerine pieces and blue cheese on top. Serve and enjoy!!

MAKE-AHEAD Prep the dressing ahead of time. Wash, dry and chill the watercress ahead of time; chop the green onion and cut up the tangerine pieces. Break up the blue cheese into crumbles. Have everything all ready to go but don't toss the salad until just before serving. This prevents the greens from getting soggy; keeps the greens and tangerines from getting "too oniony"; keeps the blue cheese separate and distinct.

VARIATIONS No watercress? No problem at all, just substitute another salad green. I especially like arugula because like arugula, it has a peppery bite. But any nice lettuce will work, really.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
Frozen orange juice concentrate is one of my favorite "secret ingredients". I use it to bump up orange flavor without adding liquid. After all, the orange is concentrated, right? I buy a small can, transfer it to a small glass container, then keep it in the freezer to dole out a tablespoon or two at a time. It keeps a long while!
I know, I know. Just a single tablespoon of blue cheese crumbles? Use good blue cheese and I promise, it's just enough.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving (assumes 4): 49 Calories; 3g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 3mg Cholesterol; 73mg Sodium; 5g Carb; 1g Fiber; 8g Sugar; 2g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 1, WW PointsPlus 1, WW SmartPoints 2, WW Freestyle CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 2 servings (4g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 1995

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MORE RECIPES for WINTER SALADS

~ Watercress, Clementine & Blue Cheese Salad ~
~ Winter Greens Salad with Oranges, Avocado, Olives, Feta & Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette ~
~ Winter Tomato Salad (Quick Pickled Vegetables) ~
~ more salad recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Spinach Salad with Fruity Vinaigrette, Fresh Fruit & Maple-Glazed Pecans ~
~ Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad ~
~ Mexican Fruit Salad with Winter Fruits ~
~ more salad recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Carrots Braised in Marsala Tool Tip: Avocado Knife (and Its Replacement) Watercress, Clementine & Blue Cheese Salad Turkey, Tortellini & Watercress Soup Baked Eggs in Cream with Spinach Sugar Snap Peas with Soy Sauce Roasted Kohlrabi Broccoli with Sautéed Garlic 15-Bean Soup Homemade Minestrone Soup Homemade Vegetable Bouillon (< this week's favorite!) Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk Vegetables 101: What Are Bitter Greens? How to Roast a Pepper on a Gas Stove Rustic Tomato Basil Soup How to Make a Spinach Omelet Egyptian Kamut Salad with Roasted Carrot & Pomegranate

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