Tangy grapefruit and blood oranges are paired with peppery arugula, tiny pearls of quinoa, creamy avocado, and crunchy walnuts for an easy, healthy, and delicious breakfast salad. 
Winter, it seems, is a time of year many of which many of us would rather sped by, transporting us forward to longer days and balmier weather. I, too, prefer warmer days and later sunsets, but lately I've been trying to, 'bloom where I am planted,' as my mother would say, and take in the grace of winter.
We've had a lot of snow in Stockholm lately, and I've walking to work and back as it's just too treacherous for me to brave biking at the moment. The walk takes me a little more than twice as long as biking would, which gives me a good amount of time to gear up for and settle down from my day at the office. It's also given me ample time to listen to podcasts - 40 minutes each way - something I don't do on my bike as I need to be considerably more attuned to the traffic around me.
Here's what I'm listening to these days:
- The Vinyl Cafe (which simultaneously warms my heart and makes me homesick)
- The Savage Lovecast (I learn so much about relationships from this one. Lots o' sex talk, so beware if that's not your thing.)
- The Joy the Baker Podcast (silly, fun, inspiring)
- The Art of Simple Podcast (am forever learning interesting things)
- Serial (dyyyying for the 2nd season of this one!)
- This American Life (so many amazing stories)
- Radio Lab (very cool sciency stuff)
- Spilled Milk (by Molly of Orangette - fun explorations of food)
- Invisibilia (this one is new, but so far really good)
- Dear Sugar (love me some Cheryl Strayed! Also not for kids...)
What are y'all listening to these days? Any favourites?
When the snow clears up and I get back on my bike I'll miss this time. I'm already brainstorming ways to get more walking and other podcast friendly fitness into my day once that happens.
Citrus fruit is, I think, another one of winter’s graces. It comes along at what some might say is the bleakest time of year, bright in colour and flavour both, and with substantial zing to it. Although in this globalized world we can find citrus pretty much all year round, blood oranges make a fleeting appearance at this time of year, and it’s well worth scooping them up while you can.
In the summer I posted a balmy breakfast salad, so I thought that the winter called for one with slightly more oomph. I’ve added quinoa, walnuts, and avocado, all of which help make this salad into a meal, adding a complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.
The blood oranges and grapefruit are segmented over a bowl to catch the juices, which then becomes the only dressing this salad needs. Other than cooking the quinoa – which can be done far in advance – it’s a simple matter of slicing and tossing to get a delicious, light, yet satisfying winter breakfast salad on your table.
PS - if you're wondering how to go about segmenting your citrus fruit, this is how.
Winter citrus is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a great source of carotenoids; a pre-curser to vitamin A. Dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin B1 round out this nutritional powerhouse. Ruby red, pink grapefruits, and blood oranges also contain lycopene (good for your prostates, fellas!). They also contain pectin, which is a form of soluble fiber that has been shown to slow down the development of atherosclerosis and reduce blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
One year ago: Meze Bowl (one of my favourite lunches!)
Two years ago: Beluga Lentil Salad with Halloumi Croutons
Three years ago: Cranberry Walnut Granola
Four years ago: Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese
winter citrus breakfast salad with quinoa and toasted walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa from ½ cup uncooked
- 2 medium blood oranges
- 1 red grapefruit
- 1 avocado
- 50 g about 2 cups arugula, washed and dried
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup torn mint leaves
Instructions
- Start by cooking the quinoa if it hasn't been cooked already. Place ½ cup quinoa in a small pot with ¾ cup cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and spread it out on a plate to cool quickly if necessary.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the ends from the citrus fruit, then slice down the sides to completely remove the peel and any pith.
- Segment the citrus over a large bowl to catch the juices (this will become the dressing) and drop the segments into the same bowl.
- Add the quinoa to the bowl - it will soak up a bit of the liquid - then add the arugula and toss well.
- Chop the avocado into bite-sized chunks and toss with the citrusy salad.
- Spread the salad onto a plate or serving platter, and scatter with walnuts and mint leaves.
- Serve immeditely.
Susan lock says
Just made a version of this yesterday & it was wonderful! No blood oranges to be found, so navels had to do. And my mint is not up yet, so had to forego the fresh in favour of dried, but it will be better from my garden. No walnuts on hand, but plenty of toasted almonds. All the substitutions still worked to make this a light & refreshing accompaniment to some baked salmon. Yummmmmm!! The use of arugula was perfect. Next time I will have it for breakfast :). Thanks, Katie.
Katie Trant says
Haha, sounds like a great salad in spite of all the substitutions. Glad you enjoyed it, Susan!
j says
i'm a bit late to this recipe, so i hope you're still responding to comments. i can't eat grapefruit; what's a good substitute? or just more blood oranges? would pomella work? and if i can't find blood oranges, would just regular oranges do? thanks for a great recipe!!
Katie Trant says
You could either do more oranges, a pomello, or really any citrus fruit that you like. The flavour will obviously be different, but still citrussy goodness. Enjoy!
Rachel says
Hi there. I love the look of this. I've not yet tried quinoa and am keen to try but I don't like avocado. What could I swap it for that would be as filling?
Katie Trant says
Hi Rachel, if you don't like the avocado you could simply leave it out, or you could add some extra nuts. You could also try adding a bit of cheese like feta or halloumi alongside. Let me know what you end up doing!
Rachel says
That's great - thank you!
Cate says
This looks lovely, quinoa is one of my favourite grains
Katie Trant says
Me too! And it's really lovely in this salad.
Christine | No Gojis No Glory says
Wow...that's some good "you" time. I'd love to be able to at least walk home from work, but it would take me like 2 hours. I love listening to "This American Life"; it's one of my favorite podcasts along with "The Moth". I need to check out "Joy the Baker"; sounds like a good one! And this salad sounds soooo good. Pinning so I can give it a try 🙂
Katie Trant says
Two hours would be quite the walk! I'll have to check out The Moth. I'm constantly adding new podcasts to my roster, there's so much good stuff out there!
Joanne says
Citrus is definitely one of the redeeming qualities of winter. I'm always looking for new ways to eat it, and this sounds just perfect! Totally a salad worth breakfasting over.
Katie Trant says
I do love a good breakfast salad. I hope you enjoy it!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
I love the idea of a breakfast salad and yours looks simple, fresh and delicious!
Katie Trant says
Thanks Sonali! It really is super fresh tasting with the citrus and peppery arugula.
andmorefood says
so beautiful! I love the big portion too 😀
Katie Trant says
You can't really go wrong with a big portion of breakfast salad!
Alissa says
I absolutely love blood oranges and grapefruit! This salad sounds like a perfect way to eat them both. I'm sending this recipe to my mom - she's always hosting these family brunches where she serves fruity quinoa salads. I'll be going to one in a few weeks, so I'm gonna get her to make this for me. 🙂
Katie Trant says
Perfect! I hope you (and your mom) love this salad!
Linda @ Veganosity says
I am one of those crazy (my family says) people who loves a good breakfast salad. Lately I've been blending my salads into smoothies, but these gorgeous pictures are making me crave a crunchy, chewy salad. This is beautiful Katie!
Katie Trant says
I had some of this breakfast salad leftover a couple of days after taking these photos so I threw it into my morning smoothie! I'm mostly a smoothie girl in the morning, but our digestive systems need to work so sometimes I like to switch things up with a breakfast salad.