Fight off the cold and flu season armed with this beautiful and delicious fresh citrus salad with Persian mint shrub (Sekanjabin).
With citrus season in full swing, my family and I are happily enjoying everything that it offers. Grapefruits, oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes – oh, my! We love them all.
Besides their glorious colors and delicious flavor, I love all things citrus because they are rich in antioxidants and high in vitamin C, which not only boosts the immune system, but also helps your body absorb iron. Citrus is also a great source of fiber.
Every year I use these fruits in a new and different ways. And this simple but elegant citrus salad is one of my favorite ways to enjoy these fruits.
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Laura says :
Why this recipe works
- Simple: A colorful citrus salad is a wonderful way to serve up any variety of citrus fruits. You can serve them in slices, chunks or wedges. And the mint syrup you drizzle over it, is just as easy to make. Think of this as a very elegant and fancy fruit salad.
- Healthy: This citrus salad is a great pick-me-up when your immune system is down and out of sorts. Because of the sweet fruits in the salad, you don’t need to add too much of the sweet mint syrup (or honey) over it.
- Flavor: Just because something is simple does not mean it can’t be delicious. The key to this salad is in the key ingredients: blood oranges, oranges and grapefruit. I used my Persian mint shrub, Sekanjabin, as the sweet and sour drizzle. It contains vinegar, giving the syrup a sweet and tangy concoction.
Ingredients you need
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- Grapefruit: You can use red, pink or white grapefruit.
- Oranges: You can use navel, valencia or cara cara oranges. You can also use clementines or tangerines.
- Blood oranges: If you cannot find blood oranges, use clementines, tangerines or tangelos. The key is choose a variety of citrus fruits varying in color and flavor.
- Fresh mint: This is fresh and vibrant salad so use fresh mint instead of dried. If you do not have fresh mint, then omit it.
- Sekanjabin (Persian mint shrub): It is very easy to make Sekanjabin at home. It requires fresh mint, sugar, water and white wine vinegar. You can also buy it already prepared at middle eastern stores or online.
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Step-by-step directions
- Prep the fruit. Remove the skin from all the fruit and cut into rings.
- Plate fruit. Arrange on a platter and garnish with fresh mint. Serve with mint syrup, Sekanjabin.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
It is best to eat this salad fresh. You can cut the slices and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to one day before serving. The dressing can be prepared several days in advance.
Want more recipes to show off a variety of gorgeous citrus fruits? You should try my orange and lemon salt where I used oven dried lemons and other citrus fruits.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store your mint syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate for several months. Because of the sugar and vinegar, it can keep fresh even longer. The fruit salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, otherwise you will have a wet goopy mess.
Fresh Citrus Salad with Mint Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 grapefruit
- 2 oranges
- 3 blood oranges
- 1 teaspoon fresh mint julienned
- ¼ cup Persian mint shrub Sekanjabin
Instructions
- Carefully remove the skin from each fruit and cut into rings.
- Arrange on a platter and garnish with fresh mint.
- Serve with mint syrup, sekanjabin.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
All this citrus certainly should help that bug that’s getting passed around. Love this time of year for wonderful citrus salads like this one. So simple, but yet so delicious!
That is so pretty but I bet it tastes SO fresh!
Well, by now the family antibody count should be pretty high: sorry you have had to do it the hard way! Lovely salad tho’ have never heard of the particular mint syrup, so honey would have to fill in 🙂 ! So much better for you than a citrus drink which leaves you with too much sugar and too little fibre to act as an intestinal broom!!
Sorry to hear about all the illness in your family! Let’s hope the rest of 2015 will be healthy. And it should be with this terrific salad! Really good stuff. BTW, that second picture is pure fun. 🙂
I’m sorry it has been such a struggle against the bugs this season. I have turned into an OCD freak with much hand washing, steering wheel cleaning and avoiding touching public door handles – citrus makes me feel healthier and we are enjoying our oranges and lemons from the garden. Get healthy! xo