CITRUS SALAD WITH HONEY CHILI DRESSING - TANIA AHMED 

With the citrus season just round the corner, I bring to you this easy and unusually colourful starter with a zingy chili-honey dressing. It serves as a light and refreshing start to a meal but can also work as a lovely little side dish with the main course. This recipe calls for oranges, grapefruit or pomelos, however you can adjust the citrus as you like. I am pairing this with pan-seared creamy cottage cheese, to balance the strong flavours of chili and garlic. 

Ingredients:
For the chili-honey dressing 
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 3 tsp honey
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 small red chilis, thinly sliced
• Curry leaves, handful, washed and dried 
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 tsp black poppy seeds 

  
For the salad 
• 2 oranges, peeled, pith removed, sliced 
• 2 blood oranges, peeled, pith removed, segmented
• 200 gm cottage cheese 
• Garlic chives, sliced 
• Fresh daisy flowers 

Method: 
• For the chilli-honey dressing, mix together the vinegar and honey in a bowl until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil, using a fork.

Add the dressing in a sauce pan and place it on heat. Once warm, add the chili, curry leaves, chopped garlic and poppy seeds. When the poppy seeds start popping, take it off the heat and set aside. 
• For the salad, arrange the sliced fruit on a pretty plate or a broad shallow bowl.
• In a non-stick pan, lightly sear the cottage cheese slices, until brown webs form on both sides. Arrange the cheese on the fruit. 
• Sprinkle over the chives and then pour over the chilli-honey dressing and give it a slight toss.
• Just before serving, place the daisy flowers. If edible flowers are not your thing, substitute with pomegranate seeds or even fresh mint. 

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PHOTOS: TANIA AHMED