Winter Greens Salad ♥ with Oranges, Avocado, Olives, Feta & Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette

Whew, say THAT three times. Or don't, because by the time you have, today's fresh winter salad could be on the table, just bitter greens (curly endive is pictured) plus juicy oranges, s'more salad fixin's all tossed with a long-time favorite no-oil salad dressing, Orange & Cumin Vinaigrette. Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free.

I swear, since Christmas, you could count on one hand how often I've cooked vegetables. But vegetable soups? and raw salads? #NoGettingEnough

My raw salads follow no recipe, per se, although there is a formula. Greens of some sort, often arugula. (Any other fans of Trader Joe's arugula?!!) Chopped vegetables, whatever's on hand. (It's winter so think carrot, cabbage, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, Brussels sprouts, radish, small tomatoes, zucchini, that's just since Christmas.) Parsley or cilantro if they're handy. Green onion, always! Salt, pepper and a splash of good vinegar. Then a drizzle of good olive oil, not much. Some times? If there's time and inclination, a few feta crumbles, a few nuts (usually Maple-Glazed Pecans) or seeds (oh my! I do owe you an amazing recipe for barely-sweet pumpkin seeds). And that's it. I could – I do – assemble a salad like this at least once a day.

Here though, I get more calculated to showcase lovely tangelos from Boudrias Groves, we're so very lucky when a mid-winter gift box is dropped off at our door. (Thank you, Jan and Charlie!) These are the juiciest oranges ever! Mostly, we just gorge on sliced oranges but after that, I get a little more creative, it's orange heaven:

MORNING-FOOD ORANGES

Orange Julius Drinks (these are zero points with Freestyle SmartPoints, right? and so refreshing!)

Sunshine Orange Muffins

DAY-FOOD ORANGES

Savory Orange Slices

Citrus Slices with Orange Flower Water, Spices & Chocolate Shavings

And now, I'm adding a salad to the lineup. So good, this one! I've made it a half dozen times in a half dozen ways in the last while, all wonderful. This is what I settled on – bitter + sweet + creamy + salty = "perfect"!

RECIPE for WINTER GREENS with ORANGES & OLIVES

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves one to many

For dressing, Orange & Cumin Vinaigrette
Winter greens such curly endive, arugula, anything with a little bite or bitterness
Orange or tangerine sections
Green onion, chopped
Kalamata olives, quartered
Avocado, cubed
Feta, crumbled
Salt & pepper to taste

MAKE-AHEAD Assemble and prep all the components ahead of time – wait, except the avocado, cut it up at the last minute unless you want to drop the cubes in a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning for a couple of hours. But don't combine the ingredients in the same bowl until you're ready to serve the salad: the olives will stain the oranges and avocado; the greens will get too onion-y; it'll all just start to mush into one rather than be the distinct and individual textures, flavors and colors that make this salad a wonder.

LEFTOVERS I a-d-o-r-e the stuff that drops to the bottom of the bowl! But the salad doesn't really "keep" so you might as well spoon it up on the spot. You're welcome.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES

For the Vinaigrette, allow one to two tablespoons per serving, one would be plenty for a side salad, you'll want more if you're assembling a larger dinner salad.

For Winter Greens, choose a green with a little bite or bitterness that will contrast with sweet citrus. That said, even a soft sweet lettuce like curly red or butter lettuce would work though you might want to add a few slices of something with bitterness, Belgian endive, say, or radicchio.

For tangerines, peel off the, um, peel (prizes to those who manage this in a single curl!) and separate the sections, no need to remove the membranes. For oranges, first slice off the skins, here's How to Cut the Skin Off an Orange for Slices. Then either (1) cut the orange in half cross-wise and use a grapefruit spoon to remove the sections or (2) "supreme" the orange with a small, sharp knife (once again, a Tomato Knife for the win, such a versatile knife!) to slip between the membrane and the flesh on both sides, then slipping the flesh out: yeah, it's kind of tedious but you get better as you go along.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Assumes one side salad with 1 tablespoon Orange & Cumin Vinaigrette, 2 ounces curly endive, 1/4 an orange, 1 green onion, 2 olives, 1/8 avocado, 1/4 oz feta

Per Side Salad: 108 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 6mg Cholesterol; 110mg Sodium; 12g Carb; 4g Fiber; 6g Sugar; 3g Protein.

WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 3 where all ingredients are "zero points" except the olives (don't skip), avocado (easily skipped) and feta (don't skip)

CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 1 scant serving (3g protein).

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