Find a Recipe!

Just a Little Bit of Bacon

where comfort food meets the farm stand

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • beverages
    • desserts
    • grilling and bbq
    • main courses
    • quick dinners
    • side dishes
    • soups and stews
  • mediterranean recipes
    • italian recipes
      • italian comfort food
      • italian antipasti
      • fundamentals of italian cooking
    • spanish recipes
      • spanish tapas
    • french recipes
      • french comfort food
    • greek recipes
  • holiday favorites
    • christmas
    • easter dinner
    • thanksgiving feast
  • resources
    • dinner and party menus
    • farmers’ market
      • ingredient spotlight
    • roundup post
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Italian Orange, Radicchio, and Pecan Salad

January 22, 2018 By justalittlebitofbacon 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Click here for details.

  • Share
  • Tweet

The best thing about winter is all the winter citrus which is available! For your next salad, pass by the sad, summer produce and instead pick up some bright and fresh Cara Cara oranges to make an Italian orange salad.

Top view of Italian orange salad on a plate

While I may be eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring strawberries and local green beans to my markets, winter citrus gives me the taste and color of summer no matter how cold or miserable it is outside.

In fact, this time of year I cannot resist buying All the Citrus. I have Cara Cara oranges, Meyer lemons, Blood oranges, and more in my crisper right now. This is when they are all at their most available and freshest so don’t pass them by!

If you’re not familiar with winter citrus, here’s a guide to all the different fruits available, with some photos and descriptions. So many different kinds! Some that I haven’t even seen in person yet! Soon I hope…

Plate of Italian orange salad

In the meantime I’ll just be over here enjoying Cara Cara oranges.

These are our favorite oranges and I’m always slicing up a few for snacks, or cubing them up over pancakes, baking them into an orange bundt cake, having them tossed into a salsa for oven fried cod, or putting them into a quick Mediterranean chicken saute for dinner. So many different ideas from sweet to savory. (And I have a cocktail coming up!!)

Here I chose to balance the sweet oranges with bitter radicchio and spicy shallots, adding some toasted pecans for crunch. I started with arugula as the lettuce, but it wasn’t right. I needed something more bitter and with more…weight to it and radicchio was perfect.

The last touch I chose was the basil. Which I know is summery and not so cheap right now! But it was exactly right for the rest of the flavors. The salad is fine without but especially good with a little basil sprinkled over the top.

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

Italian orange salad on plates

Looking for a healthy and fresh winter salad? Try an Italian orange salad full of sliced cara cara oranges, bitter radicchio, and toasted pecans all tossed with a lemony honey mustard dressing. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #glutenfree #italianfood #italianrecipes #salad #easyrecipe
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Italian Orange, Radicchio, and Pecan Salad

Looking for a healthy and fresh winter salad? Try an Italian orange salad full of sliced cara cara oranges, bitter radicchio, and toasted pecans all tossed with a lemony honey mustard dressing.
Prep Time15 mins
Total Time15 mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 salads
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Just a Little Bit of Bacon

Ingredients

Orange Salad

  • 4 cara cara oranges, or navel oranges
  • 1 cup thinly sliced radicchio
  • 1/2 cup toasted whole pecans
  • 1 tbsp thinly sliced shallots
  • 2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Salad Dressing

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey, or 2 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

  • Cut the ends off of each orange and then slice the peel off, removing all the peel and pith. Then slice the oranges into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick 'wagon wheel' shapes.
  • Gently mix together the orange slices and radicchio and arrange them on a platter. Scatter the pecans, shallot slices, and basil slices over the top.
  • Whisk together (or shake together) the dressing ingredients until they are combined and the dressing is thick. Drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad. Reserve any extra dressing in a bowl for people to add as needed.

Notes

  • I used all Cara Cara oranges, but you can use a mix of citrus. Combine navel, cara cara, blood oranges, and/or any other orange varieties you have available.
  • To toast the pecans bake them in a 350F oven for 5 minutes.
Looking for a healthy and fresh winter salad? Try an Italian orange salad full of sliced cara cara oranges, bitter radicchio, and toasted pecans all tossed with a lemony honey mustard dressing. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #glutenfree #italianfood #italianrecipes #salad #easyrecipe
Looking for a healthy and fresh winter salad? Try an Italian orange salad full of sliced cara cara oranges, bitter radicchio, and toasted pecans all tossed with a lemony honey mustard dressing. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #glutenfree #italianfood #italianrecipes #salad #easyrecipe

Related Posts:

  • Winter Citrus Salad with Mixed GreensWinter Citrus Salad with Mixed Greens
  • Cara Cara Orange Bundt CakeCara Cara Orange Bundt Cake
  • Raspberry Salad with Mixed Greens and OrangesRaspberry Salad with Mixed Greens and Oranges
  • Romantic Sparkling Rose SangriaRomantic Sparkling Rose Sangria
  • Oven Fried Cod with Cara Cara OrangesOven Fried Cod with Cara Cara Oranges
  • Ideas for a Spring Brunch MenuIdeas for a Spring Brunch Menu
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: 10 ingredients or less, 15 minutes or less, fruit, gluten free, italian recipes, recipe, salads, side dishes, vegan, vegetarian, winter Tagged With: basil, honey, maple syrup, nuts, oranges, radicchio, shallots

« How to Make Creamy Italian Polenta
Mediterranean Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs and Artichokes »

Follow me on:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Don’t miss a post!

Get new recipes in your inbox every week!

Disclosure:

Justalittlebitofbacon is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    January 26, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    5 stars
    I’m so happy we’re in citrus season so I can whip up lots of delicious recipes like this. Yes!!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      January 30, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      I know! Citrus season is wonderful.

      Reply
  2. Maggie @ Mama Maggie's Kitchen says

    January 26, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    5 stars
    This is right up my alley. Love everything about this salad. Printing this recipe RIGHT NOW!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      January 30, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Thanks! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Diana says

    January 26, 2018 at 5:48 pm

    What a lovely winter salad. Love the fresh citrus flavors at this time of the year and I love pecans!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      January 30, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Thank you! Fresh citrus is a nice benefit for the cold weather.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

Don’t miss a post!

Sign up here to have new recipes delivered to your inbox every week.

Follow me on:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Winter Warmers

Easy, delicious, and full of bubbles! This pomegranate prosecco cocktail has everything you need for a great holiday drink. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Pomegranate Prosecco Cocktail

My creamless creamy potato carrot soup is full of flavor from buttery yellow potatoes, sweet carrots, bacon fat, and sharp cheddar cheese. Pureed until smooth and topped with crispy bacon and scallions, this soup is great comfort food for dinner on chilly nights.

Creamy Cheesy Potato Carrot Soup

Vegetarian Butternut Squash Tagine - Need a quick vegetarian entree? You won't miss the meat in this flavorful and rich tasting vegetarian butternut squash tagine. It's sweet and spicy and yummy. And it's vegan so long as you skip the optional yogurt! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Vegetarian Butternut Squash Tagine

Cinnamon infused thick Italian hot chocolate is a not too sweet take on hot cocoa which is rich and decadent and intensely chocolaty. It's like drinkable bittersweet pudding! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Cinnamon Infused Thick Italian Hot Chocolate (Cioccolata Calda)

Ruby red and cinnamon spiced, this blood orange compote is a beautiful and intensely flavored sauce perfect for spooning over creamy mascarpone mousse. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Cinnamon Spiced Blood Orange Compote with Mascarpone Mousse

For a fun variation on the classic Moscow mule, try a blood orange Moscow mule! Ginger beer, lime, and vodka are mixed with blood orange juice and pomegranate in this tasty cocktail.

Blood Orange Moscow Mule

Reader Favorites

Love making artisan bread but want it to be quick and easy? This rosemary no knead bread bakes up like a dream in your dutch oven and only takes a few minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Olive Oil and Rosemary No Knead Bread

Italian comfort food of tomato, braised sausage, and pork shoulder ragu simmering on the stove is the perfect way to spend a chilly day. This pork ragu is easily doubled and freezes well. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Italian Braised Pork Shoulder Ragu

These gluten-free Italian pignoli cookies, adapted from Lidia Bastianich, are a great holiday cookie full of almonds and pine nuts! A great addition to a Christmas cookie tray. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Lidia’s Italian Pignoli Cookies

This easy flourless chocolate cake is amazingly dense, rich and decadent. Every bite is packed with intense bittersweet chocolate flavor. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Authentic Italian marinara sauce is cooked low and slow to create a thick and flavorful sauce made in the manner of my family tradition. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Authentic Homemade Italian Marinara Sauce

Homemade buttermilk blue cheese dressing is creamy, chunky and simple to make! So much better than bottled dressing. Perfect for salads, wings, and vegetable platters.

Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing

Copyright © 2021 — Just a Little Bit of Bacon • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy • Disclaimer

Genesis Framework • Foodie Pro Theme • by Shay Bocks