Bitter Leaf and Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing
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!
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.
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.