Here’s a fresh green salad to brighten up dreary winter days. I’ve been hanging onto this salad recipe until those irresistibly juicy, ripe oranges landed at the grocery store. Winter is citrus season, so the time is now! I developed this salad for a fun event in New York City a few months ago, with my friends at Osmia Organics. Sarah asked me to develop a recipe around rose geranium essential oil, which had me stumped for a while.
I thought about my trip to Morocco, and all of the rosewater they incorporate in their food. Then I remembered the orange blossoms on the trees, and combined oranges with almonds, goat cheese and radishes. A tiny pinch of cinnamon on top ties in the Moroccan theme, and creates a beautifully vibrant and fragrant salad.
For this blog version, I actually dropped the rose geranium oil, since it’s not an ingredient I expect you to have on hand. I learned from my essential oil experiments that it’s way too easy to go overboard with them. Even one extra drop of oil can turn a hard-earned meal into an inedible concoction. Plus, there are safety considerations with essential oils that I can’t even begin to cover here. All that said, I loved this salad without the rose geranium, and I hope it brightens and lightens your winter table. It would be a lovely contrast to grilled main dishes, and would also go well with Mediterranean or citrusy meals. Here are even more salad recipes to explore!
Make it dairy free: Omit the goat cheese. Make it vegan: Omit the goat cheese and use maple syrup instead of honey. Make it nut free: Substitute sunflower seeds for the almonds, or omit them altogether.
