A Sunny Citrus Salad
And a peek behind the cookbook-writing curtain
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In case you forgot, I’m working on a new cookbook—and I’m nearing the end! Most of the recipes are developed, so now I’m looking at my lineup to see what’s missing, which, let me tell you, is way easier than starting a book project, when you’re just staring at a blank page wondering where to begin.
It’s been an interesting challenge to keep this newsletter going while writing a book. Writing a cookbook is an all-consuming process—and so is Susanality! I spend a lot of time figuring out what the content should be, then working on the recipes and the words, as well as photographing them. In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I do all of it myself, except for Molly Ramsey, who thankfully helps me put the newsletter together each week. Without her, I’m not sure I could do it! In the past, I’ve usually had an assistant working with me on a book, but this time, because of logistics and the pandemic, I’ve been working all by my lonesome, which makes this book a very personal one for me. I can't wait to share it with you!
This week I decided (partially out of necessity) to kill two birds with one stone and create a recipe for the book and the newsletter at the same time! I knew I needed a citrus salad for my book, and seeing as citrus season is going to be over soon (it’s still peaking right now!), I decided to give you—my most loyal readers—a sneak peek of what’s to come in May of ‘23, which suddenly doesn't seem so very far away.
I love citrus salads, as you might already know; I shared one from my last book just weeks ago. But I wanted to create a new and different one for my new book, which is about seasonal, MOSTLY vegetable-forward cooking (fruit’s included too!). It’s really about how to make the most of what’s in season RIGHT NOW, whenever that may be.
What I especially love about citrus—which hits its peak in late winter and into early spring—is that it’s very accessible to most people. Because citrus fruits generally keep and ship very well, most supermarkets, wherever you live, will have some exciting variety of citrus that goes beyond your basic navel orange. Some of my favorites are Minneola tangelos, caracara oranges, blood oranges, pomelos, and all manner of mandarins.
The good news is you can use whatever you can find for this salad, even regular old navel oranges, and it will be great! I like to use two different kinds of citrus if I can, so there’s a balance of both colors and flavors. The burrata that’s dolloped onto the plate adds a decadent creaminess that blends with the tangy flavors of the citrus and the olives. The fresh crunch of the fennel and endive, and finally the crunchy nuttiness of the honey-roasted pistachios all combine to throw a real party in your mouth, which is the sign of a good salad!
Mandoline 101
You’ll see below that I recommend using a mandoline to shave the fennel for this recipe. It’s not a necessity, but it would yield nice, thin, uniform slices, which are ideal for this salad. If you’re new to Susanality—or just forgot about it!—click here for a post all about this handy kitchen tool. Here’s the tutorial video I share in it for easy reference.
Citrus Salad with Green Olives, Burrata, and Honey-Roasted Pistachios
Serves 4
If you want to skip the step of making the pistachios, just use store-bought roasted pistachios or Wonderful brand Chili-Roasted Pistachios for a little zing. The recipe makes more than you will need for this salad, but I don't think you’ll have any trouble using them—they’re addictive to snack on!