Butter Lettuce, Pomelo and Cara Cara Salad with Olives and Citrus Vinaigrette
Author Notes: What better way is there to balance the hearty fare of winter than to serve it with a light salad full of bright-tasting pomelos and barely sweet Cara Caras, dressed with a citrus vinaigrette? This recipe makes more dressing than you’ll need for two salads, but it keeps well. I vary this salad sometimes by substituting a few thin slices of ripe avocado, mashed and creamed, for a tablespoon of the olive oil in this, and then adding a few slices of avocado to the salad. You can use any green olives you like. I prefer fruity ones, but of course, whatever kind you like best will do just fine. Enjoy!! ;o) - AntoniaJames
Serves 2
The Salad
- 1 small head butter lettuce, torn into medium pieces
- 1 pomelo, peeled and cut into suprêmes (See note below about reserving some juice.)
- 1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and cut into suprêmes
- 8-10 Picholine or Castelvetrano olives (or use both kinds)
- 8 – 10 Marcona almonds (or any roasted whole almonds)
The Dressing
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pomelo juice (See note below.)
- 1 teaspoon grated zest of a Meyer lemon
- 1 teaspoon grated zest of a pomelo
- 1 tiny pinch of ground coriander (or, for a completely different take, finely crushed star anise)
- 1 tiny pinch of salt, plus more, to taste, if desired
- A few drops of honey (or more to taste, depending on the tartness of your pomelo)
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil, to taste
- Black or white peppercorns
- Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing except the olive oil in a jar; stir well and allow it to sit for at least an hour.
- Strain, if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, add the olive oil and shake well for about thirty seconds.
- Toss the lettuce in about 2 tablespoons of the dressing. If that’s not enough, add a bit more and toss again. Test for salt and correct.
- Arrange the lettuce on a plate, then arrange the other ingredients. Drizzle on more dressing if desired. Grind on some black or white pepper.
- Enjoy!! ;o)
- N.B. To get the pomelo juice you need for this, simply use a strainer that's larger than your fist, through which you squeeze hard with your hand what's left after cutting away the suprêmes. ;o)
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Citrus Recipe
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe with Citrus & Olives
Tags: bright, citrus, light, refreshing, seasonal, winter, winter



over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
beautiful salad, AJ!
over 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks, drbabs!
over 2 years ago Midge
Sounds so refreshing. I will look for pomelos.
over 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks, MIdge . . . and yes, pomelos are so tasty -- not as sweet as an orange, but not as sour as a grapefruit. Perfect salad food! ;o)
over 2 years ago pierino
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
I do like the pomelo idea in this. It also complements fennel quite well.
over 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Great idea, pierino, pairing the pomelo with fennel. Definitely will try. Must be the anise notes . . . . which I picked up in the star anise in the dressing. (Aniseed with citrus is also nice.) ;o)
over 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Love this, AJ! I really like the whisper of star anise you included.
over 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks, HLA. I had been thinking for weeks -- since pomelos appeared in the farmers' market -- of making my St Clements cookies recipe (oranges and lemons) using instead pomelo zest and juice, and star anise, when this contest's theme was announced, so I tried the combo in a salad instead, and really liked it. The other citrus fruit add a touch of complexity to the dressing. ;o)
over 2 years ago healthierkitchen
Yum! I love this kind of salad. We still have quite a large sack of Ruby Reds we brought back from Indian River County, FL, over Christmas break. If I can't find a good Pomelo, I think those will do well as a substitute.
over 2 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks! If I were using Ruby Reds, I'd probably substitute orange zest for the pomelo zest, because grapefruit zest can be quite bitter. I'd probably also add a bit more honey, or maybe use part Cara Cara juice, as it's so sweet, and part Ruby Red juice. I bet the salad would beautiful though, with the bright pink of the Ruby Reds and the pinky-orange of the Cara Cara's! ;o)