Avocado and Orange Salad

     Whenever my brother and I would find something amusing or interesting, we make the effort to always share it with one another. It could be a hilarious YouTube video, a good book, an addicting TV series, a nice shirt, an excellent restaurant -- or in this case, a new salad recipe.

My brother did the plating, he's getting good at it. LOL

     Hello and welcome to The Pinoy Wanderer Cooking Show, LOL! This time, I would like to share this salad recipe that my brother taught me how to prepare two weeks ago and which I think would be a nice addition to your list of favorite appetizer salads. The contrasting tangy taste of orange, the smooth, subtle flavor of the avocado, the crispy vegetables, and the the crunchy croutons make an interesting combination that could definitely prepare your appetite before a good meal. Here's how my brother made me do it:

Note: Please read the entire post so you won't miss out on any step.  

Avocado and Orange Salad

Ingredients:

250 g lettuce
10 g carrots
10 g celery
10 g leeks[1]
10 g bell pepper
1/2 avocado, segmented^[2]
1 orange, segmented^[2]
1 bread sliced into cubes for croutons^[3]
20 g butter
20 ml basic vinaigrette

Ingredients for the Avocado and Orange Salad

Instructions:

1. Wash, peel and rewash the lettuce and the vegetables.
2. Crisp the lettuce in the chiller.
3. Cut the carrots, celery, leeks and bell pepper into julienne (long thin strips similar to matchsticks) and blanch^[4] each kind separately for about 10-15 seconds then dip them into a bowl of ice water. You can adjust the time to make sure they're cooked according to your preference. When the veggies have cooled down, remove them from the ice bath and drain.
4. Cut the bread into cubes and fry it in clarified butter^[5] to make your crunchy croutons.
5. Prepare the dressing (basic vinaigrette).^[6]
6. Tear the lettuce leaves to your desired cut and sizes.
7. Layer the avocado and orange segments in the plate.
8. Mix all the vegetables and dress the salad. Arrange them on top of the layered avocado and orange. Top it with the croutons.

Enjoy!

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Notes:

[1] - I'm not so familiar with leeks too, so if this is the first time you've encountered this vegetable, they have flat overlapping leaves, sort of related to onions, and tastes mildly like it. Use Google Images to find a photo and see how it looks like before going to the supermarket to buy them.

[2] - How to segment fruits:

• Cut off both ends of the fruit and rest the fruit on one of the flat ends.
• Starting at the top of the fruit and using the middle of the knife blade, cut away the skin and pith.
• Slice each segment away from the connective membranes and use the knife to scoop the segments away from the fruit.

[3] - For your convenience, you can just use your own brand of slice bread to prepare your croutons.

[4] - Blanched vegetables are quickly plunged into boiling water and removed after a specified amount of time then submerged into ice cold water to halt the cooking process. This technique aims to keep vegetables crisp and tasty.

[5] - How to make clarified butter for your croutons:

• 20 g butter, cut into cubes. Use good quality unsalted butter, you'll notice the difference once it's reduced down.
• Heat the unsalted butter in a heavy duty saucepan over very low heat until the butter has totally melted. Let it simmer until foam rises to the top of the melted butter. (Note: The butter may splutter so be careful).
• Once the butter stops spluttering and no more foam seem to rise to the surface, remove from heat and skim off the foam with a spoon.
• You can use a strainer to remove all the solids then  use the clarified butter to fry your croutons.

[6] - How to make a basic/simple vinaigrette:

Ingredients:
50 ml vinegar
150 ml olive oil
5 g mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions: Except for the olive oil, whisk all ingredients to combine. Then gradually add oil while whisking to achieve a temporary emulsion. My brother said that different vinegars will provide different flavors. You may use your own brand and type of oil and vinegar (balsamic and apple cider are strongly recommended), and you may do away with the other ingredients but just remember that the ratio of vinegar to oil is 1 to 3. One part vinegar mixed with three parts oil. Vinegar and oil don't mix for long so prepare your vinaigrette preferably before serving.

     That's all for now folks! Hope you try this out and enjoy it too, like we did. Until my next wandering!

tags: how to segment an orange, how to segment fruits, how to prepare basic vinaigrette, how to prepare clarified butter, how to make croutons, new recipe for a salad appetizer to try, how to blanch, pinoy salad recipes to try