Smoked Salmon Citrus Salad

On long, cold winter weekend days I’m typically in the kitchen making soup or baking bread or some other hearty dish.  Today it is snowy and cold outside but after coming in from shoveling I really wasn’t in the mood for something heavy.  What I really wanted was something light and fresh and a salad sounded like the perfect option.

This weekend my husband is away and I really didn’t want to
spend a lot of time cooking for myself anyway, so I scrounged through the
refrigerator and found some leftover smoked salmon from one of the Christmas
baskets, a grapefruit and an orange, some lemons and butter lettuce.  A citrusy smoked salmon salad was just the
easy light lunch I was looking for before heading out to spend the afternoon
with my sister and niece. 

Somehow oranges and grapefruit always gives me a boost in
the winter. I feel a bit more energetic and ready to face the cold dreary
world.  Maybe it’s the Vitamin C or maybe
they just make me think of warm weather. 
(I think I mentally I take a mini vacation to the tropics!) Whatever it
is, working them into this salad was the perfect way to go today.

I made a light and zesty dressing with walnut oil and a
lemon balsamic vinegar from the Olive Tap
in the Strip District.  The walnut oil
added just enough nuttiness to the dressing and was delicious combined with the
vinegar.  Plus, it’s a great source of
antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids – another compliment to the citrus and
salmon in the salad!  I added some lemon
just to bump up the zing a bit and a little dried basil.  It complemented the smoked salmon and orange
and grapefruit nicely.  And better yet, a
little goes a long way so you don’t load up on calories with this dressing. 

Perfect for a cold winter day!    What
is your go to lunch on a cold snowy Sunday afternoon?