The Antidote to Pastry

We've been on a baking streak for the last three weeks in the SAVEUR test kitchen, and in the beginning, we were all excited for the sweets that we were producing. But nearly a month of pastries—in addition to holiday feasting—left the kitchen crew starting to feel it come crashing down on our thighs. When lunchtime rolled around yesterday, we all wanted the same thing: a simple salad, light and filling. I've often found that the best recipes come from moments of sheer desperation, and so I wasn't surprised that foraging through our fridge to see what ingredients it held resulted in the perfect detoxifying combination: toasted pumpkin seeds, ripe oranges, spicy shallots, and baby kale (lighter and less fibrous than mature kale), tossed in a dressing of fresh orange juice and honey. Topped with a few dollops of airy ricotta, it's a perfect winter salad—exactly what we needed to get us reinvigorated about all that baking and frying.