Despite my intentions to eat as locally as possible, usually somewhere in the oily depths of winter I start reaching for citrus. And let’s face it, I eat avocado all year round. These are some of my guilty pleasures, but it’s hard to feel bad about something that’s so good for me. Avocado, with its soft, creamy flesh, has more potassium than a banana and is full of vitamin B6, which is essential for the female reproductive system. And grapefruit, as everyone knows, is loaded with vitamin C. It also has high amounts of beta-carotene and other antioxidants, which make it an anti-cancer fruit. This snappy salad plays with the palate with its variety of texture and taste; the richness of avocado, the tangy grapefruit, and the pleasant crunch of poppy seeds combine to form a delicious salad that will quench any sun-starved skin.
Avocado grapefruit salad with citrus poppyseed vinaigrette
Prep time 10 minutes
Serves four
Ingredients
3 small radishes, thinly sliced
4 cups loosely packed greens (I used sunflower sprouts and spring mix)
2 ½ tbsp fresh chives, minced
1 avocado, sliced
Citrus Poppyseed Vinaigrette
Juice from ¼ of a lemon
2 ½ tbsp pink grapefruit juice
½ tsp maple syrup
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp poppy seeds
Directions
To suprême the grapefruit, first cut the peel off both grapefruits both grapefruits with a knife. Make sure to remove all of the white pith with the peel as well. Hold the first grapefruit over a bowl to catch the juice (for the vinaigrette), and cut sections from the grapefruit between the membrane. Note that you want to cut as close to the membrane as possible so as to not waste any of the grapefruit.
Put the grapefruit juice aside and place the grapefruit segments, radish slices, greens, and chives into a large bowl and toss. You can mix the avocado with these ingredients as well or you can keep it aside to garnish.
To prepare the vinaigrette, combine the lemon juice, grapefruit juice, and maple syrup in a jar. Add the olive oil, screw the lid back on to the jar, and shake vigorously until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the poppy seeds.
Dress the salad and serve garnished with avocado slices if desired.