Blood Orange & Avocado Salad

I drove to Grinnell Saturday. Roger was in the garden — the garden that is his whole world now, the 81-year-old man who tends six tomato plants and twelve sunflowers with the same care he once gave four hundred acres. He's slower but he's still Roger. He still watches the crop reports. He still calls Jack on Wednesdays.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made grilled chicken with garden vegetables earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The garden at peak production — tomatoes by the bushel, corn taller than Jack (which is saying something now, the boy is tall), peppers in every color, the zucchini in its annual attempt to conquer the neighborhood. I've left three on the neighbors' porch. They know. Everyone knows. The zucchini phase is endured, not discussed.

With the garden producing like it’s got something to prove and the kitchen counter already buried in tomatoes and peppers, I wanted something bright and cool to cut through all that heavy summer abundance. This blood orange and avocado salad has become my go-to when I need a dish that feels like a deep breath — no cooking, no fuss, just good things arranged on a plate while the zucchini keeps piling up on the neighbors’ porch.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 cups mixed greens or arugula
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and honey until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange the greens. Spread the mixed greens or arugula across a large serving platter or divide among four plates.
Layer the fruit and avocado. Alternate slices of blood orange and avocado over the greens. Scatter the thinly sliced red onion on top.
Dress the salad. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the arranged salad.
Finish and serve. Sprinkle with toasted pistachios and fresh mint leaves if using. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Blood Orange & Avocado Salad — When the Garden Gives You Everything