Soul Salad Recipe

Prepare hazelnuts

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4–6 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and lightly browned. Transfer to a plate to cool, then rub between a towel to remove most skins if desired. Roughly chop and set aside.

Prepare tomatoes

Rinse the cherry or grape tomatoes, pat dry, and halve them. Place in a large salad bowl.

Segment the orange

Using a sharp knife, cut off both ends of the orange. Stand it on one cut end, slice away the peel and pith in vertical strips, then hold over a bowl and cut between the membranes to release individual orange segments (supremes). Catch any juice in the bowl and reserve for the dressing. If preferred, you may peel and thinly slice the orange instead.

Combine salad greens

Add the arugula to the bowl with the tomatoes. Scatter the orange segments and half of the crumbled feta over the greens. Add the toasted chopped hazelnuts, reserving a small handful for garnish. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

In a small jar or bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, minced shallot (or red onion), lemon juice, and the reserved orange juice from segmenting (if any). Whisk to dissolve the honey and mustard.

Slowly whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil until the dressing is emulsified and glossy. Taste and adjust seasoning with the 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper. If the dressing is too sharp, add an additional 1/2 tsp honey; if too sweet, add a little more lemon juice or a splash more balsamic.

Just before serving, lightly drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad and gently toss to coat the leaves and distribute tomatoes, orange, hazelnuts, and feta. Add more dressing as needed to taste.

Plate the salad on a platter or individual plates, sprinkle the remaining crumbled feta and reserved hazelnut pieces on top, finish with a final pinch of flaky sea salt and a grind of black pepper. Serve immediately.