Schaner Farm’s Avocado and Citrus Salad with Green Olives
This dish offers an opportunity to showcase the great variety of citrus that farmer Peter Schaner grows for us this time of year: pomelos, Oro Blancos, grapefruits, mandelos, tangelos, clementines, and blood oranges. When making the vinaigrette, choose the juice from the oranges and tangerines rather than that of the grapefruits (too bitter) or blood oranges (too dark in color). You’ll have more juice than you need for the vinaigrette, so you can pour the leftovers into a chilled glass and sip it as you finish making dinner. (Vodka is optional.) As for the avocados, look for Reed, Hass, Fuerte, Pinkerton, or Bacon varieties. The olives may seem like an odd addition to this dish, but their brininess contrasts wonderfully with the fresh, juicy citrus and the buttery avocado.
I like to leave some of the cores and stems intact—the apples are a little harder to eat, but so beautiful that way.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Zest some of the citrus to get 1 teaspoon fine zest. Using a sharp knife, cut the stem and blossom ends from the fruit. One by one, place each of the fruits, cut side down, on a cutting board. Following the contour of the fruit with your knife, remove the peel and cottony white pith, working from top to bottom, and rotating the fruit as you go. When the fruits are all peeled, hold them in your hand one by one, and carefully slice between the membranes and the fruit to release the segments in between. Discard all the seeds. If you’re using blood oranges, don’t cut them into segments; after removing the peel and pith, slice them into pinwheels and set aside in a separate bowl. (Otherwise, they will “bleed” on the other fruit.) You should have about 2 1/2 cups of segments in addition to your blood-orange slices.
Step 2
Combine the shallot, 1/4 cup citrus juice (from segmenting the fruit), the vinegar, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk in the olive oil and the zest. Taste for balance and seasoning.
Step 3
Cut the avocados in half lengthwise. Remove the pits and peel. Cut the avocados into 1/4-inch slices and place on a plate. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
Step 4
Place the citrus and olives in a large bowl, and spoon three quarters of the the vinaigrette over them. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently toss in the watercress and frisée. Taste for balance and seasoning. Add more vinaigrette if you like.
Step 5
Plate half the salad on a large chilled platter. Nestle half the avocado slices in the salad, being careful not to flatten the greens. Arrange the rest of the salad on top, and tuck the remaining avocado slices into the salad, so you have a tapestry of colors. Place the blood-orange slices among the greens.
