Ginas Arizona Citrus Salad Food

GINA'S ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook until tender yet still firm, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain into a colander and let cool.
• Whisk together the Dijon, olive oil, and lemon juice in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the cooled orzo, cherry tomatoes, almonds, red onion, green onions, basil, mint, and feta. Toss together and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, if needed. Serve.

CITRUS SALAD

Steps:

• Place a sieve over a medium bowl. Hold an orange over the bowl, and using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and let them fall into the sieve. Repeat with the grapefruit. Squeeze the membranes over the bowl to extract as much juice as possible, reserving the juices in the bottom of the bowl. Place the fruit segments and fennel in a salad bowl.
• In a blender or the bowl of a small food processor, blend together the oil, basil and 3 tablespoons of the reserved juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over the fruit and fennel. Add the chopped walnuts and toss until all the ingredients are coated.

CELLOPHANE-NOODLE SALAD WITH ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Make pork:
• Cut pork along the grain into long 1 1/2- to 2-inch-wide strips. Remove and discard any sinew but do not trim fat. Transfer pork to a large sealable plastic bag. Stir together remaining pork ingredients in a small bowl until combined well. Add to pork and turn to coat, then squeeze bag to eliminate as much air as possible and seal. Marinate pork, chilled, at least 4 hours but no longer than 24.
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Put 1/2 inch water in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and place a metal rack across top of pan (rack should not touch water).
• Remove pork from marinade, reserving marinade, and arrange pork strips 1 inch apart on rack. Roast in oven 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring marinade to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, then boil 1 minute (marinade may look curdled). Remove from heat.
• Brush both sides of pork with some marinade and roast 10 minutes more. Generously brush both sides of pork with marinade again and roast, basting 2 or 3 times, 10 minutes more.
• Increase oven temperature to 400°F and roast pork until strips are mahogany-colored and caramelized on edges, 10 to 15 minutes more (pork should roast for a total of about 50 minutes). Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes.
• Make dressing while pork roasts:
• Blend together all dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Stir before using.
• Cook noodles and beans for salad while pork finishes roasting:
• Soak noodles in cold water to cover until pliable, about 15 minutes, then drain in a colander. Cut noodles in half with kitchen shears.
• Cook beans in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer with a skimmer or slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, reserving cooking liquid in pot. Drain beans and pat dry.
• Return bean-cooking liquid to a boil, then cook noodles, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain noodles in colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain noodles again, then spread out on paper towels and pat dry.
• Assemble salad:
• Cut as much pork as desired for salad across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Toss noodles with 1/4 cup dressing in a bowl. Toss long beans with 2 tablespoons dressing in another bowl.
• Arrange pork, noodles, beans, and remaining salad ingredients on a large platter. Drizzle with some of dressing and serve remaining dressing on the side.

SICILIAN-STYLE CITRUS SALAD

Steps:

• Make the vinaigrette: Whisk together olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. It should be tart but not over-vinegary. Taste and add a little more olive oil if necessary.
• To peel the citrus fruit, use a small serrated knife. First, cut off a thin slice of peel from the top and bottom of the orange, so it can sit flat and securely on the cutting board. Use a sawing motion to take off the peel, cutting from top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit. Remove only the peel and white pith, not the flesh of the orange. It should now be perfectly spherical and naked. Peel remaining oranges and grapefruit in this fashion.
• Carefully slice peeled citrus crosswise. Arrange slices on a large serving platter in a random pattern, letting them overlap a bit here and there. Scatter onion, fennel and celery over top. Dot the surface with olives. Surround with salad leaves, if using.
• Whisk vinaigrette, and spoon evenly over the salad. Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt and serve.

GINA'S ARIZONA CITRUS SALAD

Steps:

• Blend olive oil, sugar, orange juice, poppy seeds, minced onion, Dijon mustard, orange zest, and salt in a blender until smooth.
• Toss salad greens, green onions, avocado, green apple, goat cheese, cranberries, golden raisins, mandarin oranges, and walnuts together in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad; toss to coat.

MIXED GREENS AND CITRUS SALAD

Steps:

• In a small skillet over medium heat, cook almonds in 2 teaspoons oil until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add 1 tablespoon honey and cinnamon; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes longer or until almonds are glazed and golden brown. Spoon almonds onto a greased foil-lined baking sheet, separating almonds into a single layer as much as possible. Set aside to cool., In a food processor, combine the lemon juice, zest, mustard, salt and remaining honey. Cover and pulse until well blended. While processing, gradually add remaining oil in a steady stream. Process until thickened., In a large serving bowl, combine mixed greens, strawberries and citrus sections. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with glazed almonds.

GINA'S ARIZONA CITRUS SALAD

Steps:

• Blend olive oil, sugar, orange juice, poppy seeds, minced onion, Dijon mustard, orange zest, and salt in a blender until smooth.
• Toss salad greens, green onions, avocado, green apple, goat cheese, cranberries, golden raisins, mandarin oranges, and walnuts together in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad; toss to coat.