Happy daylight savings time! The whole springing forward thing makes me feel like it's actually irreversibly spring. Of course, this is not all that big a leap here in CA, but still. The sun is shining and the scent of new growth is in the air: it's definitely the right time for green, green salads.

This spinach salad couldn't be easier. All you really need is access to fresh, bright greens, seasonal citrus, and a just-ripe avocado. Put them all together and you have a perfect salad for the earliest days of spring.

If you've never supremed a piece of citrus fruit before, you might want to check out this video from Saveur. Just slice off the top and bottom end of your grapefruit, cut off the rest of the peel in strips, and, holding the fruit in one hand, gently slice down the edge of the membrane on each side of a segment. Work your way around your grapefruit until you've removed all the segments, and then squeeze the remaining juice out of the husk. You'll be left with a pile of beautiful, glistening grapefruit pieces and a few tablespoons of juice for your salad dressing.

However, you will also get citrus juice all over your hands, so make sure you don't have any paper cuts before you try this at home. I'm just saying.

This recipe makes 2 large salads or 4 small ones.


Spinach salad with grapefruit and avocado

1 bunch fresh spinach
1 large red grapefruit
1 avocado
grapefruit vinaigrette
pepper to garnish

Destem, wash, and dry your spinach leaves. Tear or chop them into bite-sized pieces and arrange them on your plates.

Supreme your grapefruit, reserving the juice for your dressing. Cut your avocado in half and slice each half into long strips. Divide your grapefruit supremes and avocado slices between your plates.

Dress each salad with a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette and top with a final dusting of pepper.

Simple grapefruit vinaigrette

1.5 tbsp grapefruit juice
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a lidded jar and shake vigorously to emulsify.


Hooray! Salad!

I think this salad would be perfect alongside a hearty sandwich or a bowl of hot and comforting soup, depending on just how close spring is at your house. I ate mine with some leftover falafel and rice, because that's how I roll, but if you wanted to make your salad a full meal in itself, some sliced hard-boiled eggs or seared shrimp would work very well.

How are you eating your new spring greens? How about your end-of-season citrus? Or maybe both at once?