It’s the beginning of February, right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m already seeing signs of Spring!
Yesterday in and around Los Angeles, I saw several stone fruit trees beginning to bloom! (Most of the trees blooming this early are ornamental ones, which are those that don’t produce fruit. Stone fruits include plums, peaches, apricots, cherries, and more.)
I’ll welcome the sight of these beautiful blossoming branches anytime!
Stone fruit flowers are simply gorgeous — as is this Citrus Carpaccio! And I love pairing these Spring flowers with a Winter dish!
I’d love to paint a room in my house with these stunning, vibrant colors!
This Citrus Carpaccio dish is perfect with, say, Pad Thai with Spicy Lime-Peanut Sauce, or Spicy Cilantro Shrimp! A great combination for your weekend entertaining!
P.S. Have you visited my Friday Flowers gallery lately?
Recipe
2 tablespoons Yuzu juice
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 of a small jalapeño, super thinly sliced in rings
1 Ruby Grapefruit
1 Naval orange
1 blood orange
A few basil leaves
- In a very small sauté pan, over low-medium heat, warm the Yuzu juice with the lime zest and sugar. Cook just to dissolve the sugar, about 30 seconds. Add the thinly sliced jalapeño and let this come to room temperature while you prepare the fruit.
- To prepare the fruit, use a paring knife to cut about 1/2-inch off the top and bottom of the citrus.
- Remove the skin by setting the fruit down on one of the flat surfaces and use the knife, moving downwards into the fruit and cutting only slightly into the flesh.
- Then cut very thin round slices and cut those in half. (Save the remaining parts of the grapefruits and juice them -- simply to have on hand!)
- Arrange the fruit with the basil leaves in a circular pattern on two plates, and drizzle each serving with the Yuzu-Jalapeño sauce.
Notes
Yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant from East Asia. The fruit looks like a small grapefruit with slightly uneven skin and can be either yellow or green depending on the degree of ripeness. They’re very aromatic and have a sweet n’ sour flavor, with overtones of Mandarin orange.
Carpaccio traditionally refers to very thin slices of raw beef fillet. I just think Citrus Carpaccio sounds cool, and it refers to the thin slices.
Timeline:
20 minutes ahead: Make the sauce and prepare the fruit.
This is best served immediately after preparing it!
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
@ things. First I think jalapeno goes with everything. Thanks for proving me right! And second. Ruby grapefruit are full of lycopene, just like tomatoes! Great excuse to eat more, right? GREG
Lovely looking salad!
Thank you Gerlinde!
Gorgeous salad. What incredible colors and such awesome flavors. This is my kind of dish.
Thanks Russell. I hope you try it!
What a gorgeous salad! I’ve never heard of Yuzu before – I’ll have to give it a try.
Thank you Aimée! You will love Yuzu juice! xo
The colors in this salad are beautiful! I saw this on Tastespotting and immediately was intrigued. I find the addition of the jalapenos really neat too.
Great photos! Looking forward to checking out more
What a beautiful and colorful salad. It would be a great treat to welcome spring with. Looks delish!
Thank you, Nancy! Yes, welcome Spring!
Basil, citrus and jalapeno – what a great savory-sweet-spicy combination. Citrus is amazing at this time of year – a great time to try this recipe.
And hey, you’re not too far off with the ‘carpaccio’ name – the original beef dish was thought up in the ’50s to pay tribute to a Renaissance painter, Vittore Carpaccio, who did lots of paintings in deep reds. So through a few more blood oranges in there and you’re right on target! (this is what happens when a food nerd and a history nerd collide.)
Thanks, Jason – I LOVE when history, food & art collide, too!