We serve a lot of salads at The White Oak Inn and I’m always trying to come up with new combinations. I want them to both look pretty and taste good, as well as have interesting textures when you eat them.
I’m particularly fond of including fruit in all my salads. I like to have something tart something sweet, something soft and something crunchy. This salad includes all of these. I often add grilled chicken and crumbled goat cheese to make it a complete meal rather than a side dish.
INGREDIENTS
This recipe makes 8 servings.
Salad
8 cups of mixed greens – spring mix, romaine, spinach or your favorite combination
2 large carrots, grated
40-48 Mandarin orange segments – we use canned because they are sweeter, but there’s no reason not to use fresh if you prefer
1/2 cup toasted almond slivers
Optional – 2 ripe avocados, cubed
Dressing
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups canola oil
DIRECTIONS
To make dressing: Put all ingredients except oil in a blender jar. Put lid on. With motor running on medium speed, slowly drizzle oil in. Dressing should thicken and become light green.
Arrange greens on a pretty plate.
Arrange 5-6 orange segments around the edge of each plate.
Mound grated carrot in center.
Sprinkle avocado cubes around if using.
Pour dressing into a squeeze bottle and drizzle a couple of tablespoons over each salad.
Top with toasted almonds.
The White Oak Inn
http://www.whiteoakinn.com
Yvonne Martin
The Ohio Broad