AVOCADO CITRUS SALAD with PISTACHIOS and FETA [recipe]

AVOCADO CITRUS SALAD with PISTACHIOS and FETA

serves 4

Through March, citrus is at the peak of its season, so there will be everything from deep dark red blood oranges to peachy pink Cara Cara oranges to bright white oro blanco grapefruits at the markets. You can use whatever you want, but try to find a mix of colors and at least one grapefruit to have something very tart, otherwise the salad might be a little too sweet. See notes after the recipe for more information on citrus, as well as brands/resources for the ingredients and additional recipe tips.

INGREDIENTS

6-8 citrus fruits, any kind: blood orange, cara cara orange, navel orange, oro blanco grapefruit, pink or red grapefruit, pomelo
4-5 kumquats, thinly sliced cross-wise, seeds removed
2 firm ripe avocados, peeled and sliced lengthwise
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice from half a lemon
¼ cup thinly sliced red onions, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
flaky sea salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Peel citrus, separate segments, and carefully remove the thin skin and white pith from each segment. It is time-consuming and very tedious, but sometimes you need an activity that lets your mind wander while keeping your hands away from your phone. You can of course, peel the citrus, and cut cross-wise into round slices that look like bright colorful suns.

Arrange the citrus segments and avocado slices on a serving plate with high sides (to keep the citrus juices). Add sliced kumquats. Drizzle citrus and avocado with olive oil and lemon juice. Scatter red onions, feta cheese, and chopped pistachios over the citrus and avocado. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and a little bit flaky sea salt (will depend on how salty the feta cheese and pistachios are).

Citrus segments by themselves, i.e. without olive oil and additional salad ingredients, can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for two days. Avocados will not last, but why wouldn't you just eat them all.