Winter Citrus Salad with Dates

I've been lusting for citrus of late...it's one of the best things about winter, if you ask me. The cold, bright pulp of lemons, oranges, minneolas, tangerines, clementines, grapefruits, satsumas...so refreshing, so crisp, so winter!

I am not alone in my love of citrus...many bloggers have commented on their pining for the fruit, saying that grapefruit was the only thing they could stomach during their first weeks of pregnancy or creating recipes that incorporate the fruits, highlighting their juicy, sweet, tangy, and sour flavors.

I simply can't keep it in the house...I buy bags of it each week at the market and it gets happily eaten. This citrus salad that I created doesn't help in keeping our hanging fruit basket stocked! We've been eating this as our side dish several nights per week, each of us loving the freshness of winter on our plates. The salad is tangy...it makes your mouth pucker...yet the dates embark the perfect amount of sweetness to tame the sour. It's truly divine.

Winter Citrus Salad Makes 3 medium servings

2 large grapefruits, segmented

1 lemon, segmented

1 minneola, segmented

a handful of dates, quartered lengthwise

Combine the citrus segments. Add the dates just before serving.

a note: you can use any citrus you have on hand...oranges would add a nice sweetness to the dish, but I wouldn't bother with something as small and delicate as a clementine...too much work for such a small amount of citrus meat.