This salad combines three of my favorite things: winter citrus, burrata, and pistachio pesto. Three components, which are all delicious on their own, become even better combined. The acid and sweet from the citrus is balanced by the creamy burrata, and the herby and nutty pesto rounds it all out.
The flavors stand up so well on their own, that this salad doesn’t even need much of a dressing. All it needs is some salt and pepper, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a few squeezes of citrus juice. Because of the citrus and burrata on top, I recommend serving right away so the spinach stays crisp. You can also make all the components ahead of time, and assemble before serving.
Citrus, Burrata, & Pistachio Pesto Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 6 small salads
Ingredients
- For the pistachio pesto:
- ½ cup loosely packed parsley leaves
- ½ cup loosely packed basil leaves
- ⅓ cup loosely packed mint leaves
- ⅓ cup pistachios, shelled
- Zest of 1 cara cara orange
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (approximately)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- For assembly:
- 4 large slices of artisan bread (6 if slices are smaller)
- Olive oil
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 cara cara oranges
- 6-8 cups loosely packed spinach
- 1 large ball burrata
Instructions
- In a small blender or food processor, add parsley, basil, mint, pistachios and ⅓ cup olive oil. Process until well combined into a pesto consistency with ingredients finely chopped. If too thick, add a small amount of extra olive oil as needed. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Tear bread into bite size pieces, and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to lightly coat, stirring to combine and arranging bread pieces in an even layer. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes, stirring a few times, until toasted and golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, cut off peels from citrus (trying to keep as much of the citrus intact, but there will be small amounts of citrus flesh on the peel, which you will utilize these for the dressing). Slice into slices and set aside.
- On a large serving plate, arrange spinach. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, then squeeze some of the orange peels from above step over spinach (to taste, depending on how citrusy you want the salad). Top with your hand-torn croutons from above, then with citrus slices. Cut burrata into pieces and place onto salad. Top with spoonfuls of pistachio from above (you may have a little extra pesto for other uses). Serve.
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