Green salad with mango, citrus and slivered almonds, with a quick vinaigrette
This is a salad you can make in 5-10 minutes. I make sure I always have ingredients for salad, this way, no matter how busy it gets, there’s always time for a large bowl of salad, and your daily dose of veggies and fruit is guaranteed.
Everything here is interchangeable: swap baby lettuce with arugula or spinach, swap mango with another sweet fruit such as peach, citrus with another acidic fruit such as kiwi; any nut or crunchy topping works. The main idea is combining colors flavors and mouth feel. Making your own dressing is very easy.
Ingredients:
For the salad
· 5-7 ounce washed and dried organic baby lettuce (the boxes and bags of tripled washed greens in supermarkets are great!)
· 1 ripe mango, chopped
· 1 grapefruit or orange, chopped
· A handful of roasted sliced almonds
· A handful of hemp hearts (optional)
For the dressing
· 4 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
· 1/2 teaspoon of agave
Preparation
1. In a large bowl, place salad leaves with the rest of the salad ingredients.
2. In a cup or small jar, mix the dressing ingredients with a fork or by shaking the jar
3. Add the vinaigrette to the salad right before serving, toss well, correct seasoning if necessary.
Basic salad dressing principles:
All you need is oil, acid and a bit of sweetness. The classic proportion of oil to acid is: 2 to 1.
Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is my first choice, toasted sesame and other tasty oils, or a combination of them, are nice variations.
Acid: balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, any other vinegar
Sweet: a tiny touch of agave or honey for balance
Additions, completely optional: chopped herbs, mustard, finely grated ginger, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
Dr. Ayala