For the love of bitter leaves and citrus season

A hopeful salad in the gloom of January

This seasonal salad is exactly what I want to be eating right now. It’s refreshing and energising, with zingy oranges and softly bitter chicory. It’s such a delight on gloomy January days bringing a plate of full colour to an otherwise dreary month. Find the recipe below and a few words about the upcoming Spring.

The signs are starting to appear, although they’re subtle and easily missed. First, it was spotting a smattering of snowdrops cautiously poking their heads above the earth, nature’s equivalent to dipping a tentative toe in the pool before fully committing to the plunge.

Then came the evening jog around the village, with the light just holding out long enough to continue a little after 5 pm. It felt like such a novelty like I was being granted permission to stay up well after bedtime on a school night.

If you, too, look closely enough, you will spot them… Those tiny, sanguine, signs that the arrival of Spring is getting closer and closer.

Truthfully, I often anticipate the season’s turn a little too early. But I think many of us are keenly searching for hope and optimism at this time of year, especially after this week’s nefarious news cycle. For me, though, these small signs of change are worth celebrating.

A short jaunt to the allotment earlier left me feeling quite enlivened. My beehive was buzzing, the garlic was thriving as were the onions, although please don’t ask about our broad beans as a nibbling seems to have happened. We have a problem with deer, rabbits, pigeons… It’s all very Beatrix Potter and I quite admire their dogged opportunism.

I’ve also discovered a not-new but new-to-me farm shop, tucked away in a nearby village. It’s attached to a small market garden and is essentially an incredibly well-stocked shed. It sells everything from veggies freshly plucked from the soil, to local organic meat and dairy, to apple juice pressed from a community orchard. On Wednesdays, a woman from the village delivers fresh sourdough from her micro-bakery. The most delightful part? The entire operation runs on trust. There’s no staff—just printed instructions on how to use the till and card machine. In a time when it feels like society has had a bit of a tumultuous run of late, it’s reassuring to see that trust in people’s integrity has not fully capitulated.

One thing I do adore about this time of year is that we are now in peak citrus season. It’s slightly magical how in the depths of winter, these orbs of sunshine come to the fore. I’m a keen marmalade maker, loving to experiment with various flavour combinations - whiskey and ginger being my favourite. I’m a little late this season but with the weather this weekend looking vile, I’m hoping to get the preserving pan out and prove to Gabby that the bespoke orange juicer I bought many years ago (and that only gets used once a year) deserves its place in our limited storage options on the boat.

This week, I want to celebrate these vibrant fruits and embrace the colour they bring to this otherwise dreary, gloomy month. Bitter leaves are also at their peak right now, and when paired with refreshing orange, the combination is simply divine. Add blue cheese and toasted walnuts, and every bite feels like a reminder that light always trumps the darker days.

Note: It’s worth hunting down blood oranges for this recipe. Their flavour is spectacular, and their colour adds an extra bit of drama. Waitrose had ‘Blush Oranges’ in stock, which seem to be the same thing under a tamer name. If not, Riverford always have some available when they’re in season.

Recipe

Serves 2 hungry people as a main with a little leftover, 4 as a side. Takes about 15 minutes to assemble.

Ingredients

400g tin of Green Lentils

Big handful of Parsley - Finely chopped

Fennel Bulb - Cored, halved and thinly sliced

Half a Red Onion - Chopped finely

2 Good-sized Chicories - trimmed and leaves peeled

4 Blood Oranges

100g Blue Cheese - go for a variety you can easily crumble such as Shropshire Blue

Handful of walnuts, lightly toasted.

For the Dressing…

1 tbsp Sherry Vinegar

3 tbsp Olive Oil

Garlic - Finely chopped

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Zest of one of the oranges

Salt

Method

1. Drain your lentils and leave them to sit in a colander for around 10 minutes to allow any excess water to escape. In the meantime, prepare the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a lidded jar, then shake vigorously for about a minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. The dressing might seem a little sharp, but the juice from the oranges will mellow it out as the salad comes together.

2. Next, assemble your salad. Place the drained lentils into a large bowl along with the parsley, fennel, chopped red onion, and chicory leaves. Pour in the dressing and toss well to combine.

3. Once everything has mingled nicely, it’s time to segment the oranges. Using a sharp knife, trim off the top and bottom of each orange so it sits flat on your chopping board. Then, slice off the peel and pith in sections, following the curve of the orange. Finally, separate the segments by cutting towards the center along the thin membranes inside the orange. Do this over the salad bowl to catch any escaping juices. If these instructions are unclear, refer to this video for guidance: https://www.instagram.com/ellypear/reel/C2-Q6UMt25n/.

4. Add the orange segments to the salad, along with half of the blue cheese and half of the walnuts. Gently stir to distribute them evenly. Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning if needed, then plate it up. Finish by sprinkling over the remaining walnuts and blue cheese. Enjoy!