Pear Grapefruit Slaw with Lemon Ginger Dressing

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 C chopped romaine
5 C chopped Napa Cabbage
Clean sections from 2 grapefruits
1 red pear, chopped (no need to peel)
¾ C rough chopped toasted pecans
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small cucumber peeled, seeded and sliced
2-3 ounces crumbled goat cheese
1/3 C white, sweet onion
¼ C red wine vinegar
2 T white sugar, divided
½ small jalapeño
1 large clove of garlic
1 T chunks of
fresh ginger, peeled
¼ C lemon juice
¼ C mild olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:

• Slice the white onion into thin rings. Place in a bowl and cover with the red wine vinegar and 1 T sugar. Stir, let sit for at least 1 hour, 4 hours optimal. Then drain and use to garnish the salad.
• Combine both greens in a bowl. Add the chopped cilantro, and the sliced cucumber. Cover with wet paper towel and store in fridge until ready to serve.
• In a small food chopper, combine the chunks of garlic, peeled ginger,and the jalapeño, along with ¼ C lemon juice. Combine until almost pureed. Now add the olive oil, some salt and pepper, and 1 T of the white sugar.
• Whizz and blend again. Set aside and store until you’re ready to serve the salad.(I have a really small food processor; one with about a 1 C capacity. It works great for this. But you can also finely grate the garlic and ginger and chop the jalapeño extremely fine in lieu of food chopper.)
• Peel grape fruit and isolate sections of grapefruit, cutting them in small half inch chunks.Put in a small bowl and drain off the juice. Don’t strain, just get rid of most of that extra juice. You can also store the pieces of cut pear in with the grape fruit with a splash of fresh lemon juice to keep the pears from browning.

To Plate: To the bowl with the greens, cilantro and cucumbers, add the nuts, grapefruit, pears,and crumbled goat cheese. Cover with the vinaigrette and toss well. Garnish with the sweet pickled onions.

NOTE: It is ideal to assemble all ingredients separately and then combine right before serving so the nuts stay crunchy and the lettuce stays firm. I usually cover the greens with a wet paper towel and keep in the fridge until ready, then mix all and serve.