A close up of Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad

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You can never have too many great salads, right?

This Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad with an Orange Poppy Seed Dressing is a nice winter salad when citrus fruit is at its’ peak. The addition of dried cranberries and crunchy toasted pecans complement each other to create a delicious yet simple green salad.

I have a large collection of green salads and I look forward to making this one from late fall and all the way through winter. This is my seasonal strategy, having different recipes for each season. Citrus fruit is at it’s peak in winter so try the many varieties you see at the store.

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Orange Segments vs Canned Oranges

In December I might make this salad with canned mandarin oranges. It’s super easy but also the bright orange colour of canned mandarin segments looks very festive. You can also use fresh mandarins.

For this photo I used the segments of a naval orange cut to remove all the peel and pith around each segments.The culinary term for fruit cut like this is citrus supremes but I just call it gourmet. It is tedious but I like eating grapefruits and oranges like this so I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAaEdc8Yko4&t=24s

Get The Tools – Salad Dressing

When it comes to salads my dressing is always homemade. I learned to make homemade vinaigrette dressing when I first became interested in cooking and I still do. I never really liked the taste of store bought dressing so that’s just what I do.

Homemade salad dressing keeps for weeks in the fridge and I always have a few on the go. I keep salad dressing bottles and I try to label them right away (I love may Dymo label maker). These bottles keep your dressings fresh and uncontaminated. For me the label also acts as a reminder of what salad to make when I see them in the fridge.

Let me know in the comments below if you liked this salad or if you changed it a bit.

More Salad Recipes

A Round Up of Salad Recipes

A Round Up of Summer Salads

A Round Up of Summer Salads -photo credit Jim Little

Ingredients

SALAD
1 head of soft lettuce, living lettuce or mixed leaf lettuces
1 orange cut into segments or 1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
¼ cup dried cranberries
OPTIONAL – toasted pecans
ORANGE POPPY SEED DRESSING
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp poppy seeds
3 Tbsp orange juice
¾ cup vegetable oil

Directions

1
In a small bowl combine all salad dressing ingredients except oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the dressing is thickened slightly. Dressing will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
2
Wash and dry lettuce. Cut or tear into bite-size pieces and put in salad bowl. Add orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted pecans if using.
3
Toss salad with as much dressing as needed. Serve immediately.

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Ingredients

Directions
  • SALAD
  • 1 head of soft lettuce, living lettuce or mixed leaf lettuces
  • 1 orange cut into segments or 1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • OPTIONAL – toasted pecans
  • ORANGE POPPY SEED DRESSING
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • 3 Tbsp orange juice
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  1. In a small bowl combine all salad dressing ingredients except oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the dressing is thickened slightly. Dressing will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
  2. Wash and dry lettuce. Cut or tear into bite-size pieces and put in salad bowl. Add orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted pecans if using.
  3. Toss salad with as much dressing as needed. Serve immediately.