Winter Salad with Cabbage, Satsuma Oranges and Cashews

I think I had just about every cookbook I own open and strewn across all the hard surfaces in my kitchen; flipping pages, grabbing another book, flipping through, moving onto another like some manic toddler hopped up on sugar just before nap time.

I was searching for inspiration, something new, possibly my rational mind, or maybe just a recipe to catch my attention and spark some creative juices. Alas, none was to be found.

I stacked and re-stacked my piles of books, rearranging them a bit and eventually putting them all away again. We traveled last week and I didn’t cook a thing except for the occasional bagged salad and toasted bagel (does that even count as cooking, I don’t think so).

And now we’re back and January is finally at its end and with a new month comes a bit of renewed energy. The first thing I did when we got home from our trip was clean out the fridge of every last bit of old, past-due dressings, sauces and mustards. I wiped out the fridge shelves and organized what was left. That alone was such a happy little sight, I could envision cooking something again.

A trip to the grocery store to stock up on food for the week was next and I came across the most amazing, fat, perfectly ripe satsuma oranges. They are tender, peel easily and the juiciest, sweetest citrus I’ve had all year. I immediately went back the next day and bought another bag.

From there, I had an idea. I needed a wintery, crunchy, fresh salad that included those perfect oranges. A bit of poking around my favorite food sites on the internet and a recipe from a wonderful food blog, Smitten Kitchen, popped up for a salad that included mandarin oranges and sweet and spicy toasted cashews. I put my own salt and stone twist on the recipe and I hope you’ll do the same to this recipe I share here, adapting the seasonings or ingredients to make it just how you like it.

Crunchy romaine lettuce and purple cabbage are the base to this easy salad. I want all the crunch and freshness this time of year and this combo delivers. The little bit of mint along with thinly sliced fennel give balance and freshness to the sweetness of the oranges and cashews. The result is the most wonderful salad that gives you the burst of color and flavor we’re all craving this time of year.

A quick note about the citrus: you can use any fresh oranges you find at the grocery store that you like. You could peel and slice cara cara oranges into bite-size pieces or even use canned mandarin oranges if that’s easiest. You want the citrus to dot the salad where you get a bite of orange in most bites.

Winter Salad with Cabbage, Satsuma Oranges and Cashews

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

• 1 small purple cabbage, thinly sliced

• 1 small fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced

• 3 green onions, diced

• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

• 3 satsuma oranges, peeled and divided

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

• Spiced cashews*

• Spiced Cashews

• 1 cup cashews

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Start by making your spiced cashews. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse your cashews in a colander and then transfer to a bowl (no need to pat them dry with a paper towel, you want them to have a bit of moisture on them).

Add the brown sugar, salt, cayenne and smoked paprika. Give the cashews a good mix until they are well-coated in the spice mixture. Spread the cashews on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Once the nuts begin to turn a toasty brown-red color, remove from the oven and allow to cool while you assemble the rest of the salad.

For the salad, combine the romaine lettuce, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced cabbage, green onions and mint in a large bowl. Juice one of the oranges and pour the juice into a small bowl. Add the white wine vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper and whisk to combine. Pour over the salad mixture, giving the salad a good mix to combine. Peel the remaining two satsumas and add the segments along with the cashews to the dressed salad, giving the whole thing a gentle mix to combine. Scoop the salad onto plates to serve. Extras can be saved in the fridge for a day or two.