Dragon Fruit and Blood Orange Salad with Pecans
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I received a box of produce from Melissa’s Produce in order to write this post but all opinions are 100% my own.
Every time fall rolls around I start thinking about fall side dishes. I like to make lots of potato dishes or dishes with squash and I always try to turn summery side dishes like salads into something that fits the fall theme. So when I received a box of produce from Melissa’s Produce I started looking through it to see what I could use in a salad.
When making a good side salad I find that it needs three things in addition to crisp greens. A salad needs to have a fruit for some sweetness, nuts for some crunch, and cheese for some creaminess and saltiness. So the first thing I did was dig through my produce to determine what fruit I wanted in the salad. I couldn’t pick just one so I started with blood oranges for the tartness and dragon fruit for the sweetness.
Then I started looking for the nuts. I had pecans, almonds, and walnuts on hand but I thought Millican Pecan pecan halves would work the best with the oranges. Lastly I went for the cheese. I had cheddar, mozzarella, and feta at my house and I immediately went with the feta. It’s creaminess would be wonderful to cut through the blood orange.
After tossing the salad together I needed to come up with a dressing. I love making homemade vinaigrettes because they are so easy! All you need is olive oil, vinegar, something to make the dressing a little sweet, and some spices. I add blood orange juice and honey as well as salt, pepper, and oregano to my vinaigrette but you can make it according to your tastes.
The resulting salad was really delicious. The pecans and blood oranges made it perfect for fall. I really liked the sweetness, tartness, and crunch of the entire salad. It would also be great as an entree salad with chicken or salmon on top!
Dragon Fruit and Blood Orange Salad with Pecans
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 6 c. mixed greens
- 1/2 dragon fruit cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 blood oranges peeled and thinly sliced horizontally
- 1/2 c. feta cheese crumbles
- 1/3 c. pecan halves
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- 1/3 c. red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Divide the mixed greens between four plates.
- Sprinkle the chopped dragon fruit on top. Place 4 or 5 blood orange slices on top of the lettuce.
- Sprinkle with the feta and pecans.
- To make the vinaigrette place all ingredients in a mason jar and screw on the lid. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Serve salads with dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
- Blood Orange Bars by Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats
- Buttermilk Passion Fruit Poundcake with Blood-Orange Glaze by Kate’s Recipe Box
- Dragon Fruit and Blood Orange Salad with Pecans by Hezzi-d’s Books and Cooks
- Freaky Fruit Cocktails by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Gluten Free Blood Orange Cupcakes with Passion Fruit Frosting by Frugal & Fit
- Grilled Beef Salad with Kiwano Dressing by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Kiwano and Blood Orange Smoothies by Blogghetti
- Mini Vegan Pavlovas with Coconut Cream and Passionfruit Curd by The Baking Fairy
- Muhallebi (Middle Eastern Milk Pudding) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Passion Fruit & Blood Orange Curd Tart by Savory Moments
- Passion Fruit Coconut Loaf Cake by Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
- Passion Fruit Lemonade by Jonesin’ For Taste
Great looking salad. Beautiful and colorful. This is a great way to get the family to “eat a rainbow”.