This Orange and Calamari Salad is Just Divine

I love summer because it’s a time of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I live on a small farm in Montana where my husband plants a rather large garden every year from which we are able to put up enough vegetables our needs for the year – and more!

I’m most excited when the first spinach and lettuce are ready for harvest because it’s the start of what I like to call Salad Season. To me there is nothing better than a big salad for dinner when the heat of summer comes calling.

Many nights I’ll start with a base of greens and add a little of this and a little of that and soon have a very satisfying meal that is filling and refreshing.

The evening I came up with this salad I was in the mood for seafood so I pulled some frozen calamari earlier in the day and I let it thaw so it would be ready to go by the time I wanted to prepare dinner.

It would just need a quick saute to go on top of the greens. I love citrus with seafood so that was an easy choice for an accent and the vinaigrette.

Orange and Calamari Salad

This was a delightful summer meal. The calamari added a touch of the sea and the oranges were bright and sweet. The dried tomatoes reminded me that I’ll soon have fresh ones on my table. I love adding nuts to salads for a little extra protein and the wonderful crunch they give.

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Orange and Calamari Salad

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword calamari, orange, salad

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 8 oz calamari
• 4 cups greens – different lettuces spinach
• 2 oranges
• ¼ cup dried tomatoes crushed
• ¼ cup whole almonds toasted
• 1 TBS plus 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse the calamari and pat dry. Cut into rings.
2. Zest the oranges, cut into supremes and reserve the juice.
3. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. When it is hot add the 1 tsp olive oil.
4. Add the calamari, half of the zest and salt to the saute pan and stir. Cook until the calamari are just opaque. Remove from heat and set aside. Add in the dried tomatoes and stir to mix.
5. Add the greens to a large bowl.
6. For the vinaigrette: add the 1 TBS olive oil to a small bowl. Add the remaining orange zest. Add 2 TBS of the reserved orange juice. Using a small whisk or fork stir until the dressing emusifies.
7. Drizzle some of the dressing on the greens and mix them to coat.
8. Arrange the greens on two dinner plates. There might be some left in the bowl – that is OK.
9. Divide the calamari mixture between the two plates.
10. Cut the orange supremes in half and arrange over the calamari.
11. Chop the toasted almonds and sprinkle over top.
12. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette between the two salads.

Thanks so much to Patty of Broken Teepee for providing this wonderful recipe. Stop by her blog for other great recipes, fashion posts, news from her farm (with adorable cats and goats) and more!

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