On Valentine’s Day, I went to Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark - aka, my happy place! Nothing says love like farm fresh organic veggies with the roots still in tact. I immediately came home and made a little gem salad with all ingredients in season. Light, delicious and texture heaven!

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BREAD CRUMBS -

If you have some stale bread, making bread crumbs is the best way to use them up without it going to waste.

Start by making the bread crumbs - drizzle olive oil on 2 slices of day old sourdough bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a toaster for 4-5 minutes until crispy. Roughly cut and place in a food processor and pulse a few times until crumbly. Set aside.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRESSING -

I used Kashk to make the dressing. Kashk is a range of dairy products used in cuisines of Iranian, Afghan, Turkish, Mongolian, Central Asian, Transcaucasian and the Levantine people. It is made from drained yogurt or drained sour milk by shaping it and letting it dry. It’s creamy, sour and can be found at any Persian market or Amazon..

Now prepare the dressing. Spoon into a small food processor along with water, garlic, olive oil, salt and blood orange juice. Blend everything together until combined. Pour into a small dressing pitcher and set aside.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients are super simple. Lettuce, Grapes, Blood Orange and Bread Crumbs.

Wash the lettuce leaves and grapes. Cut the grapes in half and place in a bowl. To segment the blood orange - take a sharp knife, slice off the top ¼ inch of the peel to create a flat surface. Turn the fruit onto this flat surface so that blood the orange will not roll away. Beginning at the top of the orange and slicing down, carefully pare away the blood orange peel by cutting around the fruit to remove all visible pith.