Bitter Greens and Citrus Salad

The perfect addition to all your spring celebrations

Happy first day of spring—and Nowruz Mubarak to those who celebrate! Today’s recipe is a cross-post from the Jewish Table newsletter. If you’re planning to host a Seder this year, or just generally interested in Jewish foods, I highly recommend subscribing! I’ve also compiled a list of some Nowruz celebrations around the state (and recipes to add to at-home celebrations), and I’m re-sharing my favorite cake recipe. Enjoy!

Spring Bitter Greens and Citrus Salad

This bright, colorful salad is full of early spring flavors. The ingredients are based on some of the symbolic items we put on our Seder plate at Passover (the traditional bitter greens and the orange, which we use to symbolize both women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights), but I’ve also been making this salad for other meals, as these ingredients are all at their peaks at this time of year. There’s also a lot of overlap between these symbolic ingredients and the ingredients found in other spring holidays—as often happens with season-specific celebrations. In my multi-religious house, for instance, this salad would be just as appropriate for Easter as for Passover (the flavors work really well with lamb, which is a traditional main at both holidays).

This isn’t really a salad you’d want to eat on its own—the bitter-sweet flavors are best used to offset rich dishes like lamb, brisket, and roast fish—but it does make a good base for a slice of roast salmon, if you want a hearty lunch. You can also play with the salad’s form factor: Here, I’ve left some of the lettuces in large pieces, so I could lay them out nicely for a pretty presentation, but when I serve this to my kid (or to salad-averse guests), I cut everything in very thin strips to give it a chopped-salad vibe.

Serves 6-8 as part of a large dinner

1 small head radicchio
1 small head escarole
1 small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small handful mint leaves
3-4 chives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar (dark or white)
Diamond Crystal kosher salt or Maldon sea salt
1 navel orange
1 blood orange
3-4 kumquats

1. Tear the radicchio and escarole into bite-size pieces and combine them in a salad bowl; you should have about 4 lightly packed cups of each. Roughly chop the parsley and mint leaves, and slice the chives crosswise into ½” pieces; add the herbs to the bowl.

2. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss the greens to mix them well, then drizzle in 3 teaspoons of the red wine vinegar and all of the balsamic vinegar, add two big pinches of salt, and toss everything together. Taste one piece of radicchio and one piece of escarole and add up to 1 more teaspoon of the red wine vinegar, if the greens need more of a kick.

3. Cut the peels off of both oranges and slice them crosswise into rounds, discarding the seeds. Cut the kumquats crosswise into very thin rounds, discarding the seeds. Add the citrus to the salad and serve immediately.

From the Archives: Chocolate Cake with Orange Buttercream

It’s birthday season in my house again, so I thought I’d re-share our family’s favorite birthday cake, which I first wrote about a year ago.

Celebrating Nowruz

Today is the start of Nowruz, the Persian new year. Cities across California have been holding public celebrations for a couple weeks now. If you’d like to learn more about the holiday, and join in the celebrations, check out these events:

• The Farhang Foundation is hosting a celebration at UCLA today with performances, kids’ crafts, and more, as well as a concert at Orange County’s Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on the 26th.

• In light of the tragic events of the women’s movement in Iran, the group Persian Women in Tech has decided to cancel its regular celebrations at San Francisco City Hall. There will, however, be a haftsin display and snacks on the 24th.

• The Redwood City Library will have music, dancing, and crafts on the 26th.

• San Diego’s Persian Cultural Center will host a celebration on the 25th at Escondido Public Library.

And if you’d like to honor the holiday by making Persian food at home, check out Bay Area-based chef Samin Nosrat’s essential Persian dishes, the Farhang Foundation’s cooking videos, and LA-based cookbook author Naz Deravian’s collection of recipes.

Photos: Georgia Freedman