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Keep it light and simple with 4 citrus salad recipes

Recipe: August's charred broccoli salad
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
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How do you make a basic salad anything but boring? Dress it up with bright, fresh citrus. Slices of sweet tangerines, rich pink grapefruit or segments of vibrant blood orange can add just the right tang to a salad, not to mention added texture and color. Oh, and these salads are perfect for Meatless Monday as well.

Quick kitchen tip: Many recipes call for “supreming” or “segmenting” citrus. This is actually very simple: Using a very sharp knife, cut off the top and the bottom of the fruit, so it will sit flat on your cutting board. Starting where you see the fruit separate from the white pith, cut away one section of peel and pith, following the line of the fruit. This will expose the underlying fruit. Continue cutting away sections of the peel and pith until only fruit remains. When you’re done, go back over the fruit, removing any traces of pith. Working over a bowl, separate each segment.

Pink grapefruit and fennel salad with crab

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Fresh pink grapefruit, arugula, freshly shaved fennel and red onion are tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, grapefruit juice and red pepper flakes. Mix in some Dungeness crab meat and dinner is ready.

Tangerine, butter lettuce and goat cheese salad

Recipe: Pink grapefruit and fennel salad with crab
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Sweet tangerine segments are combined with butter lettuce, fresh goat cheese and crunchy toasted hazelnuts in this easy salad that uses only a handful of ingredients.

Beets and blood oranges with mint and orange flower water

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“My idea of salad in winter is similar to my take on salad in general,” said chef Suzanne Goin. “It’s a way of celebrating what’s around now. I’m a big fruit-and-vegetable fan, and that becomes the focus for me.” She combines roasted beets with sliced blood oranges in a vivid display of color and flavor, tossed with thinly sliced fresh mint and a dressing of blood orange and lemon juices, shallots, red wine vinegar, olive oil and fragrant orange flower water.

August’s charred broccoli salad

Broccoli is cooked over a hot grill until charred and crisp-tender, then tossed with tangy sections of grapefruit and orange and thinly sliced shallot. The simple salad, at once rich and earthy, yet fresh and light, is tossed with a vinaigrette and garnished with crumbled cotija cheese and freshly-grated horseradish root.

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