Arugula, Mint & Citrus Salad with Olive-Roasted Pecans

Arugula, Mint & Citrus Salad with Olive-Roasted Pecans

Serves 4

This salad is a light, bright, refreshing treat during the fall and winter months. The recipe makes plenty of olive-roasted pecans–these double as a great cocktail snack during the holidays as well. For extra crunch and flavor, we love to finish this salad with the Olive-Oil Pecan Granola.

Ingredients

Olive-Roasted Pecans

1/3 cup pitted oil-cured olives
1 egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Salad

4 assorted citrus, such as navel orange, blood orange, cara cara, minneola, and grapefruit
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cups arugula (4 ounces)
1/2 cup mint leaves
3 ounces feta cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Pulse olives in a food processor until very finely chopped, but not pureed (or chop very finely by hand). In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until frothy. Add chopped olives and pecan halves and toss to combine. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until pecans are deeply roasted and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Remove and immediately sprinkle with fine sea salt. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
Set a sieve over a bowl. Segment and/or slice the citrus over the sieve–this will catch the juice for the dressing as you work (you should have about ¼ cup citrus juice). Reserve segments for the salad. Whisk honey and olive oil into the citrus juice and season with salt and pepper.
Pile the arugula onto a large serving dish. Scatter citrus segments and mint leaves throughout. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of citrus-honey dressing. Season with black pepper. Top with feta and about ½ cup roughly chopped Olive-Roasted Pecans.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes