Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing

BOOKMARK

DELICIOUS

Description

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing is a composed salad with a beautiful presentation…ideal to serve company or take to a Pot Luck event.

Sure, some people go for the meatballs or the wings at a Pot Luck party but what I hear are the comments about the salads. “Wow, this is amazing! What’s in here? You have to give us the recipe.” Big salads are a special treat for me too. The recipe is often too large for an everyday dinner and requires a few extra steps. That puts it into the category of worth the effort.

In this salad the juicy grapefruit segments and creamy avocado slices pair well. The peppery arugula adds some bitterness, red onion slivers give it crunch and kalamata olives add a nice saltiness. Then the whole salad is drizzled with tomato cumin dressing for a delicious, out of the ordinary combination.

Homemade Tomato Cumin Dressing

I don’t buy salad dressing. I don’t like the artificial flavouring and I so I have always just made my own. The vast majority of salad and dressing ingredients are gluten free and this recipe is simply gluten free by default.

Homemade salad dressing can be kept in your fridge for weeks or months depending on the ingredients. The secret to keeping a selection of homemade salad dressing in your fridge is starting with a clean bottle, always using a clean spoon and putting a labeling it. The label also serves as a reminder to make that salad until the bottle of dressing is used up.

Organize for Success – Homemade Salad Dressing

Salad dressing bottles can be purchased at any kitchen store but sealer jars, sometimes called Mason jars, are perfect too. These glass jars with metal lids were originally designed for home canning to preserve food. Now sealer jars are all the rage for everything from layered desserts to cold soup. The jars are most plentiful in canning season but can be found throughout the year and online.

Mason jars come in a variety of sizes, most commonly with just two lid sizes…which is the best part for me. You can also buy screw on plastic lids that never rust. Occasionally I seem to acquire a jar that doesn’t fit my system of only two lid sizes…I just give that jar away.

This Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing is simply a nice, big salad waiting for a party. Let me know in the comments below how you served this salad.

Ingredients

SALAD

2-4 grapefruits

1-2 avocados

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice to sprinkle on avocado

¼-1/2 red onion

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice to sprinkle on onion

salt and pepper to taste

4-8 cups arugula

12-24 kalamata olives

TOMATO CUMIN DRESSING

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

¼ cup tomato juice

2 tsp cumin

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¾ cup olive oil

Directions

1: SALAD
2: Cut peel off grapefruit and section using a serrated knife. Cut the fruit away from the white pith.
3: Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Peel the skin off the flesh. Thinly slice the avocado and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Set aside.
4: Halve a red onion and place it flat side down on a cutting board. Cut thin slivers from the side.
5: Toss the onion slivers with 1 Tbsp lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
6: Line a platter with arugula.
7: Arrange alternating slices of avocado and grapefruit in a circle around the platter.
8: In the center pile the olives and sprinkle red onion around them.
9: Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve additional dressing on the side.
10: TOMATO CUMIN DRESSING
11: In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, tomato juice, cumin, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until incorporated. Makes 1 1/2 cups.