Hyacinth in St. Paul is one of the semi-finalists for a 2025 James Beard award.  Chef Abe Gessesse joins us with one of their spring specials.

Cara Cara Orange Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Agrodolce Red Wine Vinegar (Sweet and Sour Red Wine Vinegar)
1 Teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
2 Peeled, Sliced Cara Cara Oranges
Black Pepper
8 Thin Slices of Red Onion
2 Figs, Sliced into 1-cm large pieces
10 Toasted, Lightly Chopped Pistachios
5 Pitted, Lightly Chopped Castelvetrano Olive (Or any good green olives)
Handful of Parsley
Handful of Mint

Instructions:

Step 1: Lay your slices of orange on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with a pinch of salt
Step 2: Add the vinegar to a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt, a few cracks of black pepper, and the slices of red onion
Step 3: Add Olive Oil to the mixing bowl, mix gently and taste. The vinaigrette should tasted and balanced: sweet, sour, adequately seasoned with salt, and light on oil
Step 4: add figs, pistachios and olives to the vinaigrette and mix
Step 5: Tear parsley and mint coarsely and gently mix into the vinaigrette, creating a sort of salad. Top the sliced oranges with the salad mix, making sure to cover the oranges in the remaining vinegar liquid.
Step 6: Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few cracks of black pepper