February Salads: Citrus Caprese
In February I set out to eat a salad every day. There were a few reasons for this, the main one being that I felt like I’d barely seen a vegetable for most of the holiday months and January. Also, February is not an inherently easy time to eat fresh produce, so it seemed like a good time to make an extra effort. Finally, I’d been feeling like I was in a bit of a slump when it came to cooking at home, and I hoped this little challenge to myself would spark some creativity.
I failed outright at this on two days (in both cases because I planned to have the salad at dinner, then just never got hungry enough - not a great reason, I know) and had two questionable days (one where my aunt said that a mix of olives & feta seemed “salad-y enough”, especially considering I’d also eaten a taco with cabbage slaw on it). Overall, though, it was a success and it was fun!
My absolute favorite discovery was the citrus caprese. Caprese salad is such a perfect summertime treat that I was very skeptical about a wintertime version, but it really does work! The citrus fruits stand in extremely well for the tomatoes, and they have the added bonus of reminding you that warmth is a thing.
Wintertime Citrus Caprese
- some citrus fruits (I usually used blood oranges - so pretty! - but a combo of oranges and grapefruit is excellent, too)
- fresh mozzarella, cherry-sized
- fresh basil, chopped (buy a plant from the store, you’ll feel happier for having something green around!)
- drizzle of olive oil
- drizzle of balsamic, if you want
- sprinkle of salt
- grind or two of pepper
- Put all that stuff together
- Eat!
Bonus: it keeps pretty well, so you can totally make it ahead.