Oranges are in season. But not just any oranges.

Navel oranges.

Big, HUGE, gorgeous, juicy, sweet oranges.

Oh, I love when that happens. 

I get the feeling that I’ll be doing a lot of things “orange” in the upcoming days and weeks.

Mind you, I like oranges so much, I tend to eat them “plain”, first thing in the morning.

Or, I cut them into little pieces, throw them in a bowl with about half a cup of cottage cheese and sprinkle that with a little bit of cinnamon. Yummers! That has been my afternoon snack for the past week and a half now.

But, I also love to incorporate them into salads. Or better yet, to make them the star of a salad, as was the case with this one.

I think I’m getting hooked on salads, really. I love creating all sorts of different combinations and they’re all so good and come together so quickly, too.

Perfect for busy week nights!

Hey, salads are so good and fun, I’ve almost forgotten all about pasta! 😉  Almost. Just not entirely.

Hmmmm… I wonder if oranges would work well with pasta? Or rice, maybe? 

Ooooh, I need to create all sorts of good things using oranges. After all, I still have plenty in the fridge, and of course, I’m planning on buying more, before the season is over.

But in the meantime, I give you this beautiful salad.

Again, you might think that the combination is strange… oranges and blue cheese?

And you say what? Raisins?

Oh yeah! It works, trust me, it really does.

Try it, you’ll see!

ORANGE, ENDIVE AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 1)

  • 1 orange
  • 4 small endives, shredded
  • 30g walnuts, chopped
  • 20g raisins
  • 25g blue cheese, crumbled

For the dressing

  • juice from ½ orange + that of above orange
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp tahini
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cut the orange into supremes, working over a bowl, in order not lose any of the juice. When you’ve got all your supremes done, make sure to squeeze all the juice out of the membrane that’s left behind. Squeeze the juice out half another orange. You can keep the other half to garnish your salad, or to munch on later.
  2. Transfer that juice to your mini blender or food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth.
  3. Arrange shredded endive at the bottom of a serving plate. Add orange supremes, walnuts, raisins and blue cheese.
  4. Pour dressing overtop the salad when you are ready to eat.