How spoiled we are to find all the ingredients for this salad locally, including in our backyards. Raised in Illinois, after 17 years in the SF Bay Area, I am still struck by the exotic sight of citrus trees growing right outside my door.
Our farm box delivery provided the lettuce – the nuts, avocado, radish, onion and vinaigrette ingredients all came from the local farmers’ market. We still have a few juicy oranges hanging onto our backyard trees, so sweet they are practically bursting. If it were fall, we’d be harvesting walnuts from the yard as well!
For this refreshing and colorful dish simply use the desired amounts of each ingredient to suit your taste – it’s very flexible with wonderful flavor no matter what ratios you use. The radish adds a pleasant crunch, but if you happen to have leftover jicama (those roots can be big) it would be a perfect substitution. A few grapefruit segments might add interest – the sour flavor providing a counterpoint to the sweet orange. We often include a handful of arugula in our salads, pumping the flavor up a notch. For those who find arugula biting, try the baby leaves, as they tend to be much mellower. Pecans or walnuts are especially wonderful here – toasting them, while an extra step, brings out a depth of flavor well worth the effort. For a quick alternative, try Trader Joe’s packaged Sweet and Spicy Pecans. Roughly chop or break in half and toss a few into just about any salad for a little sweet heat.
Ingredients:
- Mixed lettuces
- Ripe avocado
- Oranges
- Toasted or spiced nuts
- Red onion
- Balsamic vinaigrette
- Daikon or red radish
Method:
- Wash and dry lettuce leaves and tear into bite sized pieces.
- Thinly slice onion into half rings. Thinly slice radishes.
- To section orange, first remove all of the skin including the white pith. Over a bowl, carefully cut each section of fruit out from between the membranes. Place sections in a separate bowl and set aside. Squeeze juice from the remaining membranes into the first bowl and reserve for vinaigrette if you like.
- Cube the avocado. First slice lengthwise through the fruit to the pit. Rotate the knife all the way around the pit, so there is a slit around the entire circumference of the avocado. Twist the halves around the pit to separate. Take one half and make three separate cuts from one side to the other through the fruit, but not the skin, about one inch apart. Slice from top to bottom in the same way. You should end up with a grid of cubes still in the skin. Use a large spoon to scoop all of the fruit out at once, keeping the cubes intact. Place on a plate and set aside.
- If using plain nuts, toast pecans or walnuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat until they become fragrant and darken in color. Shake the pan several times during toasting to turn nuts. Keep a careful eye on them so they don’t burn. Remove from heat and roughly chop. You can substitute spiced nuts found at Trader Joe’s – see note at top for details.
- Toss lettuce, onions and radish with dressing in a salad bowl. Add the orange sections and avocado cubes and toss lightly. Sprinkle the nuts on top.
