Top | Mixt Salads

Grapefruit and Jicama with Thai Basil

(recipe, Andrew Swallow)

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Introduction

This refreshing marriage of flavors from Asia and Mexico is sure to brighten up any winter day. If you're a fan of the Siam at Mixt Greens, think of this as an amped version of that salad — with more complex flavors and a wider variety of textures, it's on another level.

Ingredients

Roasted peanuts

1. 2 cups raw peanuts
2. 2 tsp. corn syrup
3. ½ tsp. ground cayenne
4. 1 tsp. Madras curry powder
5. 2 Tbsp. sugar
6. Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Cabbage

1. 4 cups shredded red cabbage

Dressing

1. ½ cup fresh orange juice
2. ½ cup rice-wine vinegar
3. 2 tsp. sugar
4. ½ tsp. chopped fresh garlic
5. 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
6. 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh Thai basil
7. 1 cup canola oil
8. Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To assemble the salad

1. 1 lb. jicama, julienned
2. 1 grapefruit, peeled, seeded, and sliced
3. 4 tsp. chiffonaded mint
4. ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
5. Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To prepare the peanuts, combine the peanuts, corn syrup, cayenne, curry powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and ½ teaspoon water in a bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Let cool, the coarsely chop.
3. While the peanuts are cooking, rinse the shredded cabbage under cold water to let the color bleed out. Dry the cabbage with paper towels.
4. To make the dressing, combine the orange juice, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ginger, and Thai basil in a blender. Slowly add the oil in a stream and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
5. To plate each serving, toss 1 cup cabbage, one-fourth of the julienned jicama, one-fourth of the grapefruit slices, 1 teaspoon mint, and 1 tablespoon cilantro with 2½ tablespoons of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and garnish each salad with 2 tablespoons of the roasted peanuts.