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Home Side Salads

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad

By:Nagi
Published:17 Nov '20Updated:8 Feb '21
13 Comments
Recipe v Dozer v

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad is a classic salad combination that’s particularly good to serve with rich or meat heavy mains such as roasts. Use radicchio, endive, witlof, watercress, escaraloe or rocket/arugula – a mix like I have, or just one.

Tossed with an Orange Poppyseed Dressing to double up on the citrus flavour and add a hint of lovely nuttiness, terrific festive looking salad!

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing on a plate ready to be served

Here we are at Day 3 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, a series where I’m bringing you a new salad recipe every single day through to Christmas Eve!

Today’s salad is a classic everyone should know: A Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad, ideal for holiday feasts both for its festive appearance and because it goes so well with rich and heavy mains!

Close up of Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad

This is a wonderful salad to serve at big holiday feasts where there’s a lot of rib-sticking foods for the mains because the astringency of the lettuce and fresh juicy orange freshens the palate and cut through rich foods. Think – rich roasts, a grand golden turkey and holiday glazed hams!

It’s also a salad that just looks terrific on any table – bright and cheerful.

The idea is that the sweet and juicy fruit balances out the mildly bitter tang of the lettuce. I’m also using Orange Poppyseed Dressing to really drive home that sweet citrus flavour.

Wondering what bitter leaf actually is?

Bitter leaf salad leaves are simply any leafy greens that have a pleasantly bitter bite to their taste (like hops in beer). They include the chicory family plus others.

Bitter leaves include:

  • rocket/arugula

  • radicchio – the crispy purple lettuce heads with white stems

  • frisée lettuce (aka curly endive)

  • witlof (aka Belgian endive)

  • treviso lettuce

  • escarole

  • watercress

I just bought a pre-mixed box of bitter leaves from Harris Farm. It’s called “Italian Mix” and it has rocket, radicchio and frisee.

Because they have a bit of a bitter edge to them, they go very well with sweet dressings as well as salty or creamy toppings (like sharp cheeses). Today, we’re going with sweet – naturally sweet orange and poppyseed dressing!

What you need for Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad

You just need TWO ingredients – any bitter leaf leafy greens (any listed above – just one type or combo), and oranges. I just used a premix box simply labelled as an “Italian Mix” which had rocket, radicchio and frisee. Using a combination is nice for a variety of colour and texture.

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Preparing the oranges

Cut the skin off and pith (white part) off the oranges. Get all that pith off – our salad is already bitter, remember! Then just slice the oranges pretty thinly, removing seeds as you spy them. I like to slice into rounds because it looks striking when nestled amongst the salad leaves, but you could segment if you prefer.

Cutting skin off oranges
Slices of oranges

What goes in Orange Poppyseed Dressing

And here’s what you need for the Orange Poppyseed Dressing:

Ingredients in Orange Poppyseed Dressing

The poppyseed brings a touch of lovely nuttiness to the flavour as well as looking quite striking when you see it drizzled across the bright orange slices!

Meanwhile the zest doubles down on the lovely orange flavour we already have going on.

Poppyseeds
Overhead close up photo of Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

What to serve with Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad

This is a salad that’s particularly good served alongside rich foods because the bitter flavour of the lettuce balances out the heaviness of the main meal, while the orange acts as a palate cleanser. We usually serve it alongside roasts – I’m a big fan of this Bitter Leaf Salad with Pork Roast with Crackling, and also any roast lamb (especially Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder or Lamb Leg).

As a salad with Italian roots, it also is naturally at home with absolutely any Italian food, whether pasta, risottos or classic secondi like osso buco.

It also brings terrific colour to the table, with the bright orange slices contrasting nicely against the leafy greens – perfect as part of a festive spread.

No video today for this simple recipe! Though if you ask nicely / feel like there’s a step here you’d like a visual for, drop a comment below and I can make a video! – Nagi x

What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?

This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!

These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??

Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Overhead close up photo of Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Side Salad
Western
5 from 1 vote
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
This is a classic salad pairing you often see at fine dining restaurants and up market bistros. The slightly bitter edge of the leafy greens combined with the sweet juicy orange slices acts as a palette cleanser for rich mains such as roasts, and it looks bright and festive on the table.
Paired here with a fabulous Orange Poppyseed Dressing to drive home the citrus flavour, but it looks great when you see the little poppyseeds on the orange slices!

Ingredients

Salad:

  • 200g / 6 oz bitter leaves (~8 cups, packed) , such as endive, chicory and radicchio (either a mix or one kind, Note 1)
  • 2 large oranges (any kind)

Orange and poppy seed dressing:

  • 2 tbsp apple cider or white wine vinegar
  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or a nut oil
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest , lightly packed
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Put leaves into a large mixing bowl. Tear or cut any large leaves into smaller bite size pieces.
  • Peel oranges and remove skin and all outer pith (white part) using a knife.
  • Slice into 0.7 cm / 1/3″ thick wheels and deseed. Alternatively, segment oranges. Add to leaves.
  • Mix or shake Dressing ingredients in a jar until sugar dissolves.
  • Dress salad and toss.

Recipe Notes:

1. Bitter leaves include: rocket, frisée lettuce (aka curly endive), witlof (aka Belgian endive), radicchio, treviso lettuce, escarole and watercress. I just bought a pre-mixed box from Harris Farm. It’s called “Italian Mix” and it has rocket, radicchio and frisee.
You don’t have to use bitter leaves. Any lettuce will work fine here, the more interesting the better. Bitter leaves just go particularly well with the sweetness of orange.
2. Make ahead: Prepare leaves and oranges in advance, dress when serving. As with all leaf salads, not suitable for storage.
Keywords: Bitter leaf salad, orange poppyseed dressing, orange salad
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Life of Dozer

Bizarrely shiny new baking tray! Won’t be like this for long, that’s for sure…😂

Nagi and Dozer shiny baking tray
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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13 Comments

  1. Elvira Mazzeo Mazzeo says

    December 9, 2020 at 10:07 am

    Beautiful

    Reply
  2. Hanh Nguyen says

    November 20, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    Hi Nagi! I don’t have poppyseeds at the moment. Is there something else I could use in place of it?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 20, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      Just skip it! The orange flavour is so good it’s ok if you don’t have the seeds. N x

      Reply
  3. Hanh Nguyen says

    November 20, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    Hi Nagi! I don’t have poppyseed at the moment. What can I use in place of it?

    Reply
  4. Macy says

    November 19, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    What a neat picture. He is such a love🥰

    Reply
  5. Angela Kuchar says

    November 19, 2020 at 10:47 am

    Nagi, it’s time to get another puppy to play with Dozer! Can’t take the puppy picture..adorable!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 19, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      Don’t tempt me Angela!!! N x

      Reply
  6. Lisa Cupp says

    November 19, 2020 at 2:11 am

    It is so beautiful that I am sitting here trying to plan a meal around it! Glad that you are doing the salad marathon as I was getting in a rut with mine. I love the freedom to add anything to a salad and my husband likes iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato. We’re working on him and he looks over my shoulder often when I am reading your new posts. Thank you so much. My love to you both.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 19, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      That’s awesome Lisa, there’s plenty more inspiration coming!! N x

      Reply
  7. Vera G says

    November 18, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    Love puppy photo so sweet. Yumi salad, they say we eat with our eyes and this one is winner for sure. Thank you kindly. Stay cool you too.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 19, 2020 at 12:15 pm

      Everyone loves a puppy Vera!!! 😂 N x

      Reply
  8. Eha Carr says

    November 18, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    5 stars
    A salad beloved for the longest time . . . to be dressed in a new way . . . and I cannot wait ! Love the poppy seeds marrying Dijon mustard ! Use rocket most of the time . . . and love watercress as well . . .

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 18, 2020 at 6:50 pm

      It’s sooo good Eha! No boring salads in my world!! N x

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

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