Orange Avocado Salad with Herbs

A gorgeous delicate salad of avocado & citrus, scattered with herbs & a simple dressing. Plus instructions to segment your oranges!

Course Salad, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine Australian, Modern Australian

Total Time 30

Servings as a side

Calories 166kcal

Author Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

2 large oranges I used navel
1 ripe avocado - sliced (see notes)
60 g danish feta crumbled
2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
¼ cup fresh coriander/cilantro leaves firmly packed
¼ cup fresh mint leaves loosely packed
3 shallots/scallions/green onions finely sliced
2 teaspoon olive oil
juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

To segment the oranges (see notes), slice the top & bottom off one orange and stand it on your work surface on one of the cut ends - it doesn't matter which
Take a sharp knife, and starting at the top & using a downward stroke, slice down the side of the orange to remove a strip of rind about 2 cm / ¾" wide - following the contour of the orange as best you can, then continue around the orange. Then turn the orange over and trim any remaining rind from the other end as well. We are aiming to remove all of the white "pith" but leave as much of the orange flesh as you can
You should now have a pretty naked orange, but you will see each of the segments is divided by a membrane. It should look a bit like a beach ball or a basketball
Taking the same sharp knife you now want to cut between the membranes towards the centre of the orange, and pop out your segment & remove any seeds
To make the dressing, take the left over orange membrane & with your hand squeeze out the remaining juice into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice & olive oil to the bowl as well & mix lightly then set aside
To build the salad, scatter ¼ of both coriander/cilantro & mint leaves on to your serving plate/dish
Top herbs randomly with 5-6 slices of both avocado and orange, then scatter over ¼ of herbs again, along with ⅓ of spring onions, pomegranate seeds & feta each & repeat until all used
Drizzle over dressing & serve

Notes

Okay, okay - I know all that "segmenting the orange" bit sounds complicated but it really isn't - once you know how. Also, the bitter "pith", the white bit just under the coloured rind, is just that, bitter. The salad tastes much better without it.

Segmenting the orange does take a bit of time (which I have included in the cook time) so if you don't have time or just can't be bothered, then I would suggest following the instructions about removing the outer rind from the orange along with the pith. Then just slice the naked orange into rounds, slicing opposite to the direction of the membranes.

It also just looks more gorgeous & delicate without any of the white bits! But as always, your choice!

Feel free to double the recipe, just keep piling up the layers on your serving dish.

A note on the type of avocado I used. In the photos I have used a Shephard avocado (bright green shiny skin) because at this time of year here in Australia that's what's available. Normally I would use a Hass avocado (dark green bumpy skin) because they are available here most of the year (but not now) - either would be great.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*

Nutrition