Tu B'Shvat Salad
Jamie Stolper
This salad would be great any time of the year! It is adapted from a recipe in Joan Nathan's cookbook The Jewish Holiday Kitchen (Schocken Books) and it's called a Tu B'Shvat Salad because many of the ingredients are among the fruits and vegetables that are symbolically incorporated into the Tu B'Shvat seder ritual. The tang of the endive, the juiciness of the orange, the creaminess of the avocado, the crispness of the romaine, the chewiness of the dates, the green of the watercress, and the vivid red of the pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries, make this a wonderfully unique salad with lots of textures, tastes, and colors. It is easy to make too! I don't use quite all the dressing – this is a matter of individual preference – but the leftovers can be used on any salad. Be sure to serve this in a large glass bowl to show off its beautiful appearance! Ingredients
Salad: 1 orange 1 avocado 1 endive 1 bunch watercress 1/2 head romaine lettuce 2 pitted dates Seeds of 1/4 pomegranate or 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Dressing: 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar 1 clove garlic, crushed Dash of salt Dash of sugar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Freshly ground black pepper to taste 5 tablespoons olive oil Tear the romaine into pieces, separate the endive into individual leaves and cut the bigger leaves in halves or thirds, and trim the stems of the watercress. Rinse and dry all the greens (spinning is best) and toss in a large glass bowl.
Peel the orange or cut off the skin and pith with a sharp knife; cut into round slices. Halve the avocado, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh in whole pieces, and slice. Add these to the bowl
Dice the pitted dates into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries.
To make the dressing, combine all ingredients except the oil. Slowly whisk in the oil. Pour over the salad and toss gently just before serving.
Yield: 6 servings
Jamie Stolper is the Food Editor of ShalomBoston.com.
Tu B'Shvat Salad ShalomBoston.com
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