I have been so good at taking photos of my creations recently that I am a little annoyed at myself for enjoying my dinner party so much that I forgot to take a picture of this salad, especially since it was such a beautiful one!
It is a good salad to serve as an appetizer before a heavy main course or to friends who are on a diet and want to eat out while continuing to feel virtuous. It is very fresh and light and, as mentioned above, really pretty. Damn it...
2 cups mixed baby leaves. Since there is not a lot going on in this salad, I went all out and mixed baby lollo rosso with red and green romaine, beet greens, arugula, romaine, mizuna and chard but any combination of soft, tender baby greens will work.
1/2 cup whole mint leaves
2 avocados, pitted and sliced
2 citrus fruit, peeled and cut into segments. I used ruby grapefruit because I thought it would look the prettiest but any large orange or type of grapefruit would be nice.
1/2 shallot, peeled and cut into thin crescents
edible flowers or flower petals for decoration (optional)
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
juice from 2 limes
1/4 cup olive oil
There are 2 ways of making this dressing, depending on how you and your friends feel about heat and spice. If I don't know my guests' tastes, I tend to simply mix the juices and oil together for the dressing and use the jalapeno as a salad garnish so that those who do not like anything spicy can pick the jalapeno pieces out.
Those who like a little of heat in a dish should put the jalapeno on a piece of aluminum foil and broil it for 3 minutes on each side. Allow it to cool and remove the skin. Taste a tiny bit of the pepper - if it is really hot then cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and core. If the piece suits your heat level than use the whole thing. Whiz the jalapeno and the juices together in a blender. Pour into a bowl and then add the olive oil to that mixture. Mix well. I do not use any salt in this particular dressing but if you find that it is lacking, go right ahead.
Dress the baby leaves and the mint in the bowl and remove. Arrange on a platter. Dress the avocado pieces in the bowl, place on top of the greens. Arrange the citrus segments, the shallot crescents and the flowers artfully on top. Drizzle everything with a tiny bit of the remaining dressing in the bowl.
You could add thinly sliced kumquats or pomegranate seeds to this salad as well. Crumbled Feta would work well too if you wanted something a bit more substantial.
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