You are probably thinking, Ferra, why are putting a salad on the blog in January?! I know it’s in the middle winter right now but it’s also the beginning of a new year and everyone is trying to eat healthier after the holidays. This Mediterranean Salad is a great way to get in a lot of veggies and it reminds us of warm days at the beach. Plus, it’s made with oranges and greens which are both seasonal in winter. The oranges and red bell peppers provide a lot of vitamin C which is great for our immune system in these winter months.

I was just talking to my friend group from college and they are all in the frozen tundra right now. Negative temps and even colder wind chills. I thought I was cold with temps in the 40s! I guess I don’t have anything to complain about. Back to making salad.

What You’ll Need

Lettuce
Protein (chicken, shrimp, salmon)
Olives
Oranges
Roasted Red Peppers
Nuts
Herbs
Red Wine Vinegar
EVOO

How to Make this Mediterranean Salad

I start by cooking the chicken. Chop up chicken (breasts, tenders, thighs, whatever you like) into bite size pieces and cook in olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken with dried thyme, dill and oregano. I don’t measure but I would guess 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of each sprinkled evenly over the chicken. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle and set aside while you make the salad and dressing.

Cut up the romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and wash it well to remove any soil. I use a salad spinner to help with the process. If you don’t have a salad spinner, put the cut up pieces of lettuce into a bowl of water and swish it all around in the water. The dirt should settle to the bottom of the bowl, so skim the lettuce off the top and lay onto towels to dry.

Next, zest the orange and set the zest aside for later. Then supreme the orange. Instead of me trying to explain this, HERE is a link to a website that shows you step by step how to do this. Basically you are removing the pith and membranes and you are left with beautiful orange jewels! If you just want to use orange slices, that’s ok too. You do you. I’ll never know!

After removing the supremes from the orange, squeeze the remaining juice into a container where you will make your dressing and set aside.

Cut up the roasted bell peppers and olives.

Finish making the dressing. Get the bowl with the orange juice in it. Pour in red wine vinegar until you get a 1/4 cup liquid total. Then mix in 1/4 cup EVOO. Whisk it all together.

Now it’s time to build the salad. Start with the lettuce and layer on the chicken, roasted bell peppers, orange slices, olives, orange zest and nuts of your choice. You can use almonds, cashews, walnuts, whatever sounds good to you. Pour the dressing over the top of it and enjoy!

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