Grapefruit Salad

What?  Another grapefruit recipe?  Yep!  While I’m in the grapefruit mode, I just have to add a tangy grapefruit salad.  A lovely departure from a mixed salad, this combination of tart grapefruit, sweet gooseberries, fragrant walnuts and zesty pea shoots lightly bathed in a creamy vinaigrette will hit the spot.

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 cups rinsed and dried pea shoots

1 half pint cape gooseberries*

¼ cup lightly toasted walnuts

1 grapefruit cut into segments

Citrusy vinaigrette dressing

Directions

Gently toss ingredients together with vinaigrette just before serving.

* Cape gooseberries look like tiny tomatillos, swaddled in tissue leaves. They are deep yellow, slightly sweet and tart.  Look for them in farm and produce markets.

Citrusy  Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 t Dijon mustard

1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T good extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons peanut oil*

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Place chopped shallot in a bowl.  Stir in mustard and lemon juice.  Slowly whisk in the two oils until a creamy emulsion is attained.  Whisk in salt and pepper to taste.

The dressing can be enlivened with herbs to suit your taste, fresh or dried.  Remember 1 teaspoon of a dried herb equals 1 tablespoon of the fresh.  Tarragon, with its faint licorice flavor, is one of my favorites.  You might consider basil,, savory, chervil or marjoram.

*Peanut oil or canola oil mellows the rich olive oil and allows the other flavors to come through.