Ingredient overview Steps
Overview
Here, four contrasting elements come together and they make a superb salad that overflows with a fresh and exciting flavor.
At its base is Little Gem lettuce (or romaine, if Little Gem is not available), which is so crisp and fresh that it practically quenches your thirst when you bite it. The leaves are covered with a magnificent pale green and luxuriously creamy (but healthy) vinaigrette made by mixing coriander or basil with green onion, avocado, yogurt and a touch of vinegar.
Once clad, the wrapped leaves are topped with juicy, tangy red grapefruit segments (blood orange or Cara Cara segments would work here as well) and bright pickled red onions, which can be prepared in the time required to pull the salad together or in advance.
Crisp, juicy, creamy, tangy and tangy with beautiful hues of pink and green, it’s a salad that brings a ray of bright light to any meal that needs a bit of sun. Although it goes well with just about any dinner, stew, or pan-fried dinner, this salad is a must with a bowl of hearty chili.
Grapefruit gem salad, picked onions and avocado vinaigrette
Storage room: Pickled onions can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
ingredients
FOR Pickled onion
3 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon of honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion (half moons)
FOR DRESSING
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or basil leaves
1 green onion, coarsely chopped
1 ripe avocado, cut in half, pitted and peeled
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (low in fat or fat)
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and more to taste
FOR THE SALAD
2 red grapefruits
8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed torn gem or romaine lettuce leaves
Not
Step 1
Make the marinated onions: in a small bowl, whisk the hot water with the honey until everything is well mixed; then whip the vinegar. Add the onions and let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
2nd step
Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl of a food processor, mix the coriander or basil with the shallot until it is finely chopped. Add the avocado, vinegar, yogurt, water, salt and pepper and mix until smooth.
Stage 3
Make the salad: Cut the top and bottom of each grapefruit, then, resting the fruit at one end, remove the skin and marrow by cutting from top to bottom, following the shape of the fruit with your knife. While holding the fruit on a large bowl, use a paring knife to remove each section of grapefruit from its membranes (this is called the supremacy of the fruit), collecting the sections in the bowl. Squeeze the juice from the remaining fruit into the same bowl.
Step 4
In a large bowl, gently mix the lettuce with the dressing until it is evenly coated. To serve, place about 1 1/2 cups garnished lettuce on each serving plate. Pick 3 to 4 grapefruit segments and place them on each serving of salad (reserve the juice for another use – or drink it) and several slices of marinated onion. Serve by grinding more black pepper to taste.
From nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.
Tested by Ann Maloney; email your questions to [email protected].
Scale and get a printable version of the recipe here.
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Nutrition
Calories: 90; Total fat: 5 g; Saturated fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 100 mg; Carbohydrates: 11 g; Dietary fiber: 4 g; Sugars: 7 g; Proteins: 2 g.