And best of all? You can make it in advance for easy meal prepping (see recipe notes). This recipe is part of Bowl of Delicious’s month-long Mediterranean Diet theme. The red wine vinaigrette is my standard dressing for any Greek salad, and brings the flavors of the Mediterranean into this salad. While the ingredients themselves may not scream Mediterranean, the recipe fits the bill for the diet perfectly, since it’s packed with plants and a dressing made of extra-virgin olive oil.
I always forget how much I love raw mushrooms. They are PERFECT in this salad- their earthiness paired with the bright citrus is amazing. And the toasted almonds add a pleasant crunch to each bite. I used baby portobella mushrooms and sliced them myself so they would be really thin. When you prep mushrooms, I recommend using a towel to wipe away any visible dirt, rather than washing them in water. They are super spongy and absorb the water easily, affecting their texture.
Feel free to use pre-sliced, pre-washed mushrooms as a shortcut. For another shortcut, use canned (and drained) mandarin oranges and/or grapefruit. I was an overachiever and used three kinds of citrus: orange, grapefruit, and Meyer lemon. You can use any or all of them (but be warned: while the Meyers are sweeter than other lemons, they are still very tart!). Make sure to use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil for the dressing- my go to that’s available at almost any grocery store is California Olive Ranch Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. If you like this, you’ll love this roasted beet salad with grapefruit vinaigrette and this strawberry arugula salad. Here’s the (extremely easy) recipe for Winter Citrus Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette!
