Blood orange and pistachio salad with feta

This Blood Orange Pistachio Salad is a gorgeous and flavorful salad! Blood oranges add a bright citrus note that pairs well with red onions, chopped pistachios, and feta cheese. This salad is drizzled with a blood orange dressing and pistachio oil.

Nothing makes me happier than a nice salad.

For me, what really makes a salad spectacular is its colour, texture and taste (it’s obvious). Back in 2014 when I first posted this salad, blood oranges were seasonal and a bit hard to find. Now you can find them in most major grocery stores most of the year. However, if for some reason you can’t find blood oranges (sometimes called raspberry oranges), any orange would work.

Blood oranges are the most beautiful fruits. Combine the next colorful veggies, red onions, pomegranate seeds, and pistachios and you have a combination made in salad heaven.

My favorite way to serve this salad is with air fryer salmon. Precious!

To make this Blood Orange Pistachio Salad you will need:

for the dressing:

• kosher salt – Enhances the flavors in the dressing.
• freshly ground black pepper – Adds some subtle bite and flavor.
• Ginger (Floor) – Imparts a subtly hot, spicy and sweet taste.
• cayenne pepper – Adds a touch of subtle warmth.
• blood orange juice – Freshly squeezed. This adds color and sweetness and enhances the blood orange flavor.
• raspberry vinegar – Adds a touch of sweetness and tart flavor.

For the salad:

• butter salad – Adds a light, crunchy texture and subtle sweetness.
• Baby lettuce or spring mix – Usually composed of baby spinach, radicchio and other baby greens.
• micro greens – Adds texture and extra nutrients. However, if you don’t find this, you can omit it.
• Red onion – Consider soaking onions in ice water to remove much of the bite. You still get onion flavor, but it softens considerably.
• blood oranges (segmented) – Gives delicious citrus flavor.
• pistachios – Adds crunch and a mild earthy flavor.
• pomegranate seeds – Adds a touch of colour, texture and sweet and sour taste.
• feta cheese – Freshly crumbled is best as it isn’t coated in anti-caking ingredients.
• dill (fresh) – Imparts a sweet and grassy flavor with notes of celery and parsley.
• pistachio oil – Has a deep, earthy and distinct pistachio flavor.

To slice an orange:

Run your knife around the orange to remove as much of the orange peel and the bare minimum of the actual fruit. Continue until all the rind and pith (which tend to be bitter) are removed. Switch over a bowl and to a paring knife and cut on the inside of the membrane separating each orange segment.

Repeat these steps with all the oranges and place the orange pieces in one bowl and collect all the juices in the second bowl. Once I was done segmenting, I squeezed what was left of the orange to get some if not all of the juice out. You will need 3 tablespoons of blood orange juice.

In a small bowl, measure 1/4 teaspoon each of kosher salt, ground ginger, and cayenne pepper and add with a few turns of freshly ground black pepper.

Add 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar and 3 tbsp freshly squeezed blood orange juice.

Whisk to combine and strain into a pourable mug or glass.

Next arrange the lettuce. I use a 7-ounce bag of butterslaw and a 5-ounce bag of either a spring mix or baby lettuce mix—both of which I found at Trader Joe’s. Then I put some micro greens on top.

Top the vegetables with the thinly sliced ​​red onion, blood orange segments, chopped pistachios, crumbled feta, pomegranate seeds, and chopped fresh dill.

Drizzle with the blood orange dressing.

And a drizzle of pistachio oil – about 2 tablespoons for the entire plate.

Serve with extra dressing and pistachio oil, salt and pepper!

Undoubtedly one of my favorite salads. I can’t even begin to describe how fresh and bright this salad is.

This salad goes great with salmon, shrimp or scallops. But chicken would be great too!

Each bite of this blood orange salad was a little different depending on what I had on my fork. Still, my favorite bit was when I got some blood orange, pistachios, and feta. Honestly, there’s really no way you’re going to get a bad bite.

I love this salad and I know you will too!