4-CITRUS & BURRATA SALAD

and my tips on how to supreme citrus!

Back when I was a young restaurant cook working the garde manger station (cold plates and fryer) I was desperate for something new to make. I had been there for several months and felt like I had gotten a good handle on the 10 or so dishes that came off of my station. I was in a flow state, and I was ready for more.

Well ask and you shall receive, because when I clocked in for my shift that day and my cdc gave me the news that we’d be running a seasonal citrus salad special that night, I was ecstatic. The salad was super simple; citrus segments, celery, celery leaves, orange zest, flaky salt, red wine vinegar and good quality olive oil. This dish was about highlighting the best of what the winter season had to offer. But chef was very clear that he wanted zero pith or seeds on the segments. What’s so hard about that? To my surprise, the citrus segments really did me dirty. I didn’t realize how much time and effort it would take me to supreme enough citrus to fill an entire plate. I’m talking at least 2 whole citrus PER PLATE. I’m talking about 30 pieces of citrus per-night. I was moving at turtle pace and I was running out of time.

Luckily, I had an amazing team of cooks that helped me through and here are the big takeaways I learned from them…

1. Use a knife that is going to give you the most control. If you’ve seen the Martha Stewart doc and you remember the scene where she told her staff member “Well, isn’t that a stupid knife”? Well, while she was a tad harsh, she wasn’t wrong. I specifically chose different knives for each piece of fruit. For small blood oranges, I used a serrated paring knife (especially helpful for removing the pith). For big grapefruits, I used a fish knife, sharp, bendable, and long enough to extract the larger-sized segments.

2. Create a flat surface on either side to have more control when slicing. Don’t be too precious about the exterior pith on the first go-around, you can always go back and remove the rest of the pith later.

3. To avoid wasting citrus, slice down one side and delicately peel the the citrus segment off of the membrane.

Here is a video that gives you all my tips on how to supreme like a boss!

It took me some time to get there, but with tons of practice, I became a citrus-segmenting pro. This salad is my celebration of citrus and a representation of how practice makes perfect. It includes 4 types of citrus, Castelfranco lettuce (a varietal of radicchio), and an easy shallot vinaigrette that I use all the time.

4-citrus salad with burrata

serves: 4 people

ingredients:

for the salad:

• 2 heads of Castelfranco or radicchio lettuce, cored and leaves torn into 2-inch pieces

• 1 navel orange, peeled and zest reserved

• 1 mandarin orange, peeled and segmented

• 1 blood orange

• 1 grapefruit

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 ball burrata, patted dry with a paper towel and cut into eighths

• Aleppo pepper, for garnish

• flaky salt, for garnish

• extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

for the vinaigrette

• ½ large shallot, minced

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 medium garlic cloves, grated

• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes

• ½ tsp Aleppo pepper

• 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped

• ½ cup red wine vinegar

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

method:

1. prepare the citrus: Peel the zest off of the orange and reserve on the side while you supreme the citrus. Cut off the tops and bottoms of each piece of citrus (except the mandarin orange) to create a flat surface. Place the citrus cut-side-down and using a sharp knife, slice off the peel and pith until all the pith is removed. Slice down between on either side of the membrane of the citrus to release perfect citrus segments. Place into individual bowls and set aside while you prepare the dressing.

2. prepare the vinaigrette: Add 1 minced shallot and olive oil to a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook until the shallot has softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat, grate in the garlic, add in the chili flake and Aleppo pepper and swirl to combine. transfer to a container with a lid. Add in the oregano and red wine vinegar, season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, seal and shake until combined. Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.

3. prepare the garnish: Place the citrus peels onto a cutting board, peel side down. Using a sharp knife, cut the peels into very thin strips (julienne), turn the strips so they are perpendicular to your knife, and then finely mince the zest.

4. dress the salad: Place half of the dressing into a bowl, add in the lettuce, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.

5. plate: Transfer half of the lettuce to a platter, top with half of the citrus segments, top with remaining lettuce and remaining citrus segments. Nestle burrata pieces onto the salad. Garnish burrata with flaky salt, orange zest and Aleppo pepper. Top the salad with more dressing as needed and drizzle with good quality olive oil. Enjoy!!

Enjoy the heck out of this salad and feel free to use any citrus you have on hand. You really don’t need to have all four types, one or two will do! See ya next week :)

peace, love, and citrus,

Elena

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