It is Satsuma time here in Baldwin and Mobile counties! Needless to say when I spotted them and the beautiful lettuces from Craine Creek Farms at the farmer’s market, I could not wait to use them in a recipe. I knew a fresh, tasty salad was in my family’s future. According to Blake Nichols with Sessions Farms, the variety I purchased from him is the LA Early, which as you would suspicion by the name, is an early maturing Satsuma mandarin cultivar.
Green Sweet Crisp Lettuce and Satsuma Salad with Satsuma Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Ingredients purchased at Farmer’s Market:
1 pound Satsumas
Head of Green Sweet Crisp Lettuce
Honey
Before preparing the vinaigrette and assembling your salad, you will need to cut segments from 2-3 Satsumas and juice the remaining. If you have never cut segments from citrus fruits, there is a great video at http://www.finecooking.com/videos/segment-citrus-fruits-salads-salsas.aspx showing you how. Be sure to select the largest Satsumas for cutting the segments. I know this might be tedious, but it is well worth it. Plus it really helps to improve your knife skills. I found this variety to be very juicy, so I had no problem extracting a cup of juice. Also, by placing the segments in a strainer over a bowl, you will get more juice as they sit to utilize in the vinaigrette if needed.
Satsuma Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Yield: 3 1/3 cups
1 cup Satsuma juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1½ cups canola oil
⅓ cup honey
½ cup white vinegar
4 tbsp. sugar ( optional depending on sweetness of satsumas. Add 1 tbsp at a time to taste)
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon almond extract
In a small pot, whisk together the juice and cornstarch until smooth. Heat while whisking. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a bowl. After the juice has cooled slightly, add it to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Vinaigrette can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
I selected the green sweet crisp lettuce to use as my salad base. It is like a blend of romaine and bibb giving you the best of both. This lettuce is an excellent one to serve especially to those who are picky, but are trying to add more leafy greens to their diet. Since one of my older sons would be in town, I knew it would be the perfect one. It does not take much to prepare this lettuce. Simply twist off the root end. Rinse off the lettuce under cold water. Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces. This lettuce is so tender you do not need a knife. If you have a salad spinner, spin dry the lettuce. If you don’t, simply place a few paper towels on your counter. Spread the lettuce evenly over them. Carefully roll up the paper towels to absorb excess water. The less water there is on the lettuce, the better the vinaigrette will stick to it.
As far as assembling the salad, I prepared side salads by evenly dividing lettuce amongst 4 bowls. By the way, since the only part of the lettuce I couldn’t use was the root, I had plenty of lettuce to make 4 more salads for anther meal from that one head. Next, I added Satsuma segments to each bowl (more to mine!) I happened to have some cinnamon glazed pecans on hand which were a great addition. Lastly, I drizzled a small amount of vinaigrette onto each salad. It did not take much at all. No need to drown your salad and hide the great flavors of the lettuce and Satsumas. I know, not much to it, but you don’t need much when you have great, fresh ingredients. You can easily add a cheese like Feta, add some red onions, use almonds instead of pecans, or make it an entrée salad by adding grilled chicken or steak. Just have fun and enjoy!
Submitted by:
Dede Trotter
Culinary Dreams, Inc.
10/22/2013