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I offered to bring a fruit and greens salad to a Mennonite Girls Can Cook luncheon last month. My idea was to start with a bed of mixed spring greens and add add a variety of fruit. I wanted it to be fresh with lots of citrus flavour. The variety of oranges and the citrus dressing gave me just the taste I was wanting.
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While picking up the ingredients for my salad at the produce market this beautiful, but odd magenta coloured fruit caught my eye. The skin was thick and felt leathery. I asked someone about it and I found out that Dragon Fruit is the fruit of a cactus plant. The clerk cut one open for me to see and to taste. I added one to my shopping basket.
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Inside the Dragon Fruit is a white flesh with little seeds. The texture of the flesh is between a kiwi and watermelon. When cut it holds it's shape well. Dragon fruit is slightly sweet, but does not have much flavour.
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To remove skin just slide your thumb under one corner and peel away from flesh. It comes away easily. Slice or cut into small cubes. My cubes resembled dice, and added a unique and pretty addition to the salad.
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This citrus dressing is light, tangy and sweet.
Salad Ingredients: (serves 8)
- 4 cups mixed spring greens
- 1/2 English cucumber, quartered and diced fine
- 1 Blood orange, peeled and cut into sections
- 2 Kiwi fruit, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 large Navel orange. peeled and cut into sections
- 1 cup grapes, sliced
- 8 strawberries, quartered
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- Wash all vegetables and fruit. Allow to dry.
- Lay mixed greens on a platter.
- Top with all remaining ingredients, arranging as desired.
Citrus Dressing:
- 3/4 cup grape seed oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoons, freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 tablespoons, freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Place all ingredients into a jar or shaker and shake well.
- Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or over night.
- Serve on the side or drizzle over salad just before serving.
Dressing keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator.
That salad looks incredible. I have never tasted dragon fruit and it looks so pretty cubed like that (like dice for sure). Also, the dressing sounds amazing - great idea to use lemon pepper in it. Your luncheon must have been fabulous - loved to see all your faces again.
ReplyDeleteOh man, does that salad look delish! I have never seen the dragon fruit but the name fits it pretty well, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI believe the orange you reference is actually called a Cara Cara. It tastes like an orange but tends to look like a grapefruit. The contrast would be beautiful in this salad!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a delicious and very different kind of salad! I'll have to give this one a try! Rhoda
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