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Butter Lettuce, Pomelo and Cara Cara Salad with Olives and Citrus Vinaigrette

by:
February 10, 2011
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Serves 2
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

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Ingredients
  • 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
Directions
  1. 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.
  2. Strain, if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, add the olive oil and shake well for about thirty seconds.
  3. 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.
  4. Arrange the lettuce on a plate, then arrange the other ingredients. Drizzle on more dressing if desired. Grind on some black or white pepper.
  5. Enjoy!! ;o)
  6. 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)
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Recipe by: AntoniaJames

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10 Reviews

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drbabs February 11, 2011
beautiful salad, AJ!
AntoniaJames February 14, 2011
Thanks, drbabs!
Midge February 11, 2011
Sounds so refreshing. I will look for pomelos.
AntoniaJames February 14, 2011
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)
pierino February 11, 2011
I do like the pomelo idea in this. It also complements fennel quite well.
AntoniaJames February 14, 2011
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)
hardlikearmour February 11, 2011
Love this, AJ! I really like the whisper of star anise you included.
AntoniaJames February 14, 2011
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)
healthierkitchen February 10, 2011
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.
AntoniaJames February 10, 2011
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)