Hello lovelies, I hope everyone enjoyed a nice weekend. I spent some cozy time with the family and less time working on my phone or computer. I have to admit, it's sometimes hard to step away from everything and to be in the moment, when you know there are always messages to reply to, a new recipe to photograph or to type for the blog. But on the other hand, I also need this time away to get new inspirations and ideas and of course my family always comes first.
So today I'm more than happy to be back with a new recipe. A winter salad inspired by seasonal ingredients and with my fav fruit at the moment: blood orange. I love the taste and of course the unique look of blood oranges. And now is the right time to enjoy them, because they are only in season for such a short period of time from Jan-March. Did you know, that blood oranges will get their special color only when they are in an environment with extreme temperature differences - around 15 degree C (59 F) at day and around 2 degree C (36 F) at night. Otherwise the color change won't happen and they will stay just orange. Or you get just orange ones when you buy too early - like I did last December. They are packed with Vitamin C, just perfect for the grey season.
But let's talk about the salad now. For this spinach salad with blood oranges and roasted veggies I combined the blood oranges with roasted beets and carrots and also added some maple syrup, orange zest and fresh thyme to the veggies - this will give them the best flavor. Combined with fresh spinach (make sure to have the small baby spinach leaves), roasted hazelnuts and vegan cheese from New Roots (in my opinion the best you can get in Switzerland) - and all of it topped with the perfect Avocado.
The veggies before I put them in the oven - isn't that color just beautiful?!
As dressing I went for a simple vinaigrette with EVOO, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice (orange juice is fine as well) and mustard, since I didn't want to mask the roast aromas and the pleasant acid of the oranges, but rather intensify them. The Avocado adds a nice creaminess to the salad, but if you can't find a good one, or just want the salad to be even lighter, you can of course just leave it out - same goes for the cheese.
I really hope, I could make you curious to try this salad and also get your hands on some blood oranges, while they are in season. But please buy organic ones if they are available for you, especially if you want to use the zest, others are no option in my opinion.
If you love this spinach salad with blood oranges and roasted veggies, I have more winter salads for you: for something fruity and elegant try my beetroot salad with oranges and ricotta, for citrus freshness my kale salad with orange and fennel and for a heartier, autumnal bowl my autumn salad with roasted Brussels sprouts and pumpkin. I'd love to hear how you like it.
