Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Schaner Farm's Avocado and Citrus Salad with Green Olives

Lately my sister's been pestering me to spice up my salads so I browsed through Sunday Suppers at Lucques and came across this delightfully unique salad, Schaner Farm's Avocado and Citrus Salad with Green Olives. Though it did take much longer to prepare than my go-to salad (peeling those oranges!), it had such an interesting mixture of flavors, that it was most certainly a class above my generic salads.



Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Schaner Farm's Avocado and Citrus Salad with Green Olives
[Winter Menu 32]

Ingredients
4 lbs mixed citrus fruits [I used oranges & clementines]
2 tbsp finely diced shallots
1 tsp red wine vinegar [I subbed in sherry vinegar instead]
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 c virgin olive oil [I used Orange & Green Lemon Specialty Olive Oil from O&Co]
2 ripe but not too soft avocado
1/2 c pitted Lucques, Picholine, or other green olives
1 bunch watercress, cleaned, tough stems removed
1 bunch frisee (about 2oz), cleaned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Zest some of the citrus to get 1 tsp fine zest.
• Peel the oranges like so. When the fruits are peeled, hold them in your hand one by one, and carefully slice between the membranes and the fruit to release the segments in between. Discard all the seeds. [Note: If you're using blood oranges, don't cut them into segments; after removing the peel and pith, slice them into pinwheels and set aside in a separate bowl.] You should have about 2.5c of segments in addition to your blood-orange slices. 
• Combine the shallot, 1/4c citrus juice (from segmenting the fruit), the vinegar, lemon juice, and 1/2tsp salt in a small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk in the olive oil and the zest. Taste for balance and seasoning.
• Cut the avocados in half lengthwise. Remove the pits and peel. Cut the avocados into 1/4-inch slices and place on a plate. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper. 
• Place the citrus and olives in a large bowl, and spoon three quarters of the vinaigrette over them. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Gently toss in the watercress and frisee. Taste for balance and seasoning. Add more vinaigrette if needed.
• Plate half the salad on a large chilled platter. Nestle half the avocado slices in the salad, being careful not to flatten the greens. Arrange the rest of the salad on top, and tuck the remaining avocado slices into the salad. Place blood-orange slices among the greens. 

Why I picked this recipe: it was a salad that had an interesting blend of ingredients that I've never encountered before

What I tweaked: I used sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar as I had just run out of red wine vinegar last week. And I had this amazing orange and green lemon infused olive oil on hand that seemed perfect for this recipe so I used that instead of plain olive oil. 

What I liked: It was a party in my mouth: tangy, salty, sweet, creamy all at once.

Future Changes: None.