Blood Orange and Feta Salad

Blood oranges are in season- and they are delicious!

A friend noticed a citrus salad recipe in the New York Times food section. This particular salad was made with a grape fruit and a navel orange. She had bought some blood oranges and we paired them with a grape fruit. She had some olives in the house decided to top the salad with them. I am always happy with a pop of salty goodness. We made a simple dressing and enjoyed the salad.

I decided to replicate the salad for a dinner party. Trader Joes has an abundance of blood oranges. I love buying them- it reminds me of being in Italy. This past summer, while we were staying in Spello- we would do some basic grocery for breakfast. Usually we are a juice free house- but there I bought a carton of orange juice. My daughter was fascinated to see the dark red color of the juice- I explained to her the orange juice is made out of blood oranges- hence the color. The juice was delicious!

I cut the oranges into disks and topped them with the olives and feta. For some reason feta comes to mind when I think of citrus. I also remembered I had a orange muscat champagne vinegar from Trader Joes. I used that to make a delicious, clean dressing with a hint of honey.

The salad was delicious! Everyone loved it. I have a big bunch of blood oranges which I am planning to use them again. Definitely make the blood orange salad- you can even substitute regular oranges- any citrus will be delicious!

• 6 to 7 medium sized blood oranges, peeled with the pith off and sliced into disks
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives

Dressing

• ¼ cup orange Muscat champagne vinegar (Trader Joes) or any vinegar can be substituted
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 teaspoons honey

Add the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper into a small bowl. Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking at the same time. Finish once the dressing is emulsified. Keep aside.

Take four serving platters and arrange the orange disks at the bottom. Top with the cheese and olives, dividing them evenly onto the four plates. Drizzle the salad dressing right before serving.