Avocado and Orange Chopped Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Dressing

Do you remember ‘back in the day’ when you would go to most restaurants and every table had a bottle of oil and vinegar sitting by some napkins and you wondered who the heck would EVER be satisfied with such a simple dressing when you could order a salad with creamy Thousand Island or Ranch dressings? I do and I confess I was one of those culprits. I couldn’t even stand what was called Italian dressing back then but it was just a derivation of the same thing but with dried herbs as the bonus. Not much better.

Fortunately, as surely as I eventually segued from margarine to butter I also made the move from those creamy (and I’m certain store-bought) dressings to lighter and more flavorful fare. The biggest impetus for that change was the discovery of what had previously been a mysterious and foreign entity…olive oil. I won’t deny that the first time I tried olive oil I might have been less than excited; I think we do get used to certain things and change is hard but I knew it was supposed to be better for us than butter and I kept at it and I’m so glad I did. It’s a staple in my kitchen today and guess what I have sitting next to my stove. Well, a bottle of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar; the better to make my own dressings with my dear!

While I have a great salad dressing recipe to share with you today; more than anything I would love to encourage those of you still buying bottled products to try something new. I absolutely love a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing on salads today; I’m so bad I don’t even mix them. I simply pour a bit of olive oil over my greens and shake a bit of vinegar on top and voila; done. And delicious. There are two things I make in my kitchen that are amazing when crafted at home but that too often people think are more timely or complicated than they are and that’s cocktails and salad dressings. I’ve done my work sharing cocktails and it’s easy to see that most are a 5 minute prep and the same is true with salad dressings. Most often a combination of olive oil, vinegar, seasoning, salt and pepper. That’s it…easy right? And no dry seasonings either; this is a time when the use of fresh ingredients will really make your salads sing. For this salad today I included avocado, oranges, candied almonds, dried cranberries and green onion with a touch of orange juice in the dressing. It tasted like summer (especially if I ignore the snow outside).

My oldest daughter used to say lettuce was simply a vehicle for dressings and she’s right isn’t she; who eats plain lettuce anyway? But if we’re going to flavor lettuce, let’s do it right. Fresh basil, chives, rosemary and thyme are my favorite herb additions but then I do grow those from May through October outside and even manage to keep a small lot going through the winter! One huge change over the years since my ‘awakening’ is the wide variety of olive oils available. I’m using the Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil from California Olive Ranch in this recipe today; much like wine each oil has their own taste profile and excels with certain foods. The Arbequina shows notes of tropical fruits and fresh artichoke and is perfect for pestos and salads or used for drizzling over bruschetta. Another varietal that I have is Arbosana; a more complex oil with nutty tones of almond and green tomato that is perfect over roasted vegetables and can even be used to draw out the richness in your favorite chocolate dishes.

This salad is part of California Olive Ranch’s ‘Fresh, Bright and Light’ series where they have partnered with OXO, California Almonds and California Avocados to inspire people to make fresh, easy salads at home; their Pinterest Board is full of great ideas. I decided to use all of the food products in my salad and I love some of the new products I received from OXO. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed having a salad spinner after pitching an old one years ago and their chopped salad bowl and rotary cutter made quick work of cutting this salad and making it ‘chopped.’ Easy is good right?

Several bloggers were challenged to create a new recipe showcasing the versatility of olive oil. I decided to make a new version of a Honey Mustard Salad Dressing using olive oil instead of mayonnaise. Can I just say how much I love this lighter version of Honey Mustard Dressing? Let’s see, so far this week I’ve used it for this salad, another salad (shown above) with raspberries, blackberries, croutons, cheese and avocado and last night I served it with pan fried chicken tenders as a dipping sauce. I mean we LOVE it! If you have ever purchased or even made a honey mustard dressing you have to try this version with olive oil; it’s so fantastic that I think it’s my new house dressing. Maybe it’s a leap of faith but I promise; once you start to make your own dressings you will never turn back. So easy, so good and so versatile.

Avocado and Orange Chopped Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients

• For the Dressing:
• 6 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
• Juice of 1 Orange
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• For the Salad:
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 cup Almonds, sliced
• 6-8 cups Romaine Lettuce
• 1/4 cup Dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup Green onion, sliced thin
• 1 Avocado, sliced
• 1 Orange in segments
• Preparation
• For the dressing:

Put everything into a food processor or blender and mix until will blended. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your taste if necessary.

To Make the Salad:

Heat the sugar and almonds in a medium skillet over medium high heat until the sugar starts to melt.

Mix well, watching until the sugar starts to brown and coats the nuts.

Remove from heat and pour the nuts onto a piece of foil to cool completely; breaking up as needed.

Tear the Romaine lettuce into small pieces and combine in a bowl with the candied almonds, dried cranberries and green onion.

Mound on plates and top with sliced avocado and orange segments.

Top with the Orange Honey Mustard Dressing.

2.4

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This recipe brought to you by Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com

I was provided with products for this post from California Olive Ranch, OXO and California Almonds but all commentary is my own.