Citrus Fruit Ideas to Brighten the Winter Blues

citrus caprese

It’s the beginning of a new year and as I look forward to spring I must admit one of the things I do like about winter is all the beautiful citrus that is available. Maybe it’s the way it makes you feel after over indulging during the holidays, it’s fresh, bright and very healthy for you, and who doesn’t need a good dose of vitamin C during these cold winter days.citrus

Every time I go food shopping I fill my cart with orange citrus, my three favorite varieties are navel, Cara Cara and blood oranges, each have a unique and special flavor on their own and I love to mingle them together.citrus caprese

While I patiently wait for my summer tomato caprese salad, this winter caprese has become my cold weather favorite.

You don’t need a recipe, just layer your favorite sliced oranges with fresh mozzarella, just like you would a tomato caprese. Lay it all on a bed of arugula with an optional sliced red onion ring in between.

 

The dressing is simply fresh squeezed orange citrus juice that is whisked with good olive oil, ( you could add a little white balsamic or champagne vinegar to the mix if you wish) the bitterness of the arugula against the sweetness of the orange and the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella is the perfect combination, especially when the dressing mingles all over it.citrus slicescitrus and fennelcitrus salad

I’ve been making a few other citrus salads as well, one has sliced oranges with fennel, red onion, creamy avocado, a little bit of arugula and toasted hazelnuts.

 

The other one is a huge bunch of arugula, orange slices and toasted hazelnuts, I love the bitter with the sweet. Both are simple to put together and they compliment any protein you might be eating, I especially love it with fish and seafood.citrus with crab cakes

On New Years Day I made this salad along with crab cakes, they complimented each other perfectly with the richness of the crab and the brightness of the citrus.citrus salsa

Citrus in the form of salsa is outrageously good, make it like you would any other salsa only with various varieties of orange segments, chopped jalapeno, cilantro or parsley, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil.

citrus salsa

The salsa’s are wonderful to top off scallops, shrimp, salmon, whitefish, basically any fish, plus it’s light and healthy something we all need after the holidays.citrus with cod

Here’s a one pan meal that is so delicious and it will surely brighten a cold winter day, my baked cod with blood orange, fennel and olives.
citrus with cod

Citrus fruits are not only refreshing they actually make you feel better, there must be a reason why these sunny fruits are available during the darkest time of the year. How many more days til spring?

Follow me on Instagram to see some of the other things I’m cooking up during the week.

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Roasted Winter Citrus with Shrimp

roasted citrus with shrimp In my last blog post I roasted grapes for the very first time and now I’m doing it with winter citrus. As I stated before, when roasting vegetables and fruit a nice caramelization starts to occur and then all the flavors deeply intensify, it’s a wonderful thing!

sliced citrus Right now I can find beautiful citrus everywhere so on my recent shopping trip I picked up some Navel, Cara Cara, Minneolas and beautiful Blood Oranges. When roasting citrus it’s best if you can keep them all the same thickness when slicing, so I recommend using a mandoline.

roasting citrus Toss your slices in a little bit of olive oil then place them single layer on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment.

roasted citrus The citrus goes into a hot oven around 425, turning them over once. You might have to remove some slices before others as they can over-caramelize and start to burn, if it happens just discard them like I did.

roasted citrus They taste best when the slices are still pliable and not stiff, and if they’re cut thinly they’re completely eatable and delicious!

roasted citrus with shrimp My shrimp was also roasted and I made a dressing of olive oil and some of the juice of all four oranges.

citrus dressingroasted citrus with shrimp I suggest roasting some extra citrus, the slices store well in the fridge and you can use them on both sweet and savory dishes, it’s my new favorite thing and the colors will perk you up!

This was the perfect meal to brighten a dreary winter day.

Roasted Winter Citrus with Shrimp
 
Ingredients
  • a few different variety of oranges that vary in inner color, at least 2 each
  • 1 lb. of shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tail removed
  • 1 bag of fresh baby spinach
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • parsley and thyme
  • DRESSING
  • ¾ cup of citrus juice
  • ¾ cup olive oil, whisked together
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. TO ROAST THE CITRUS
  2. Heat oven to 425
  3. Slice each orange nice and thin with a mandoline, toss with olive oil and place on a baking sheet, single layer lined with parchment, sprinkle slices with a tiny bit of salt.
  4. Roast until still pliable turning once, be careful not to burn them as they start to caramelize, 10 or so minutes. Set aside to cool.
  5. ROAST SHRIMP
  6. Line a baking sheet with foil and keep oven at 425
  7. Make sure your shrimp is dry and moisture free by dabbing well with paper towels.
  8. Toss cleaned and dry shrimp into a bowl with enough olive oil to coat, add the minced garlic and a generous amount of fresh chopped herbs.
  9. Place onto foil lined baking sheet and roast until shrimp turns pink and tender, maybe 10-12 minutes, times vary according to size of shrimp.
  10. On a platter layer the spinach, citrus slices and warm shrimp, then drizzle all over with the citrus dressing.

 

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