To start our Very Vegan Christmas Dinner, we served a winter salad with arugula from Satur Farms and Red Cooper grapefruit from the Valley. We did almonds for crunch and dates because they looked great. The dressing was made with Meyer lemons.
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:40]
Arugula Salad with Dates, Almonds, Grapefruit and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
8 dates, diced
1/2 cup almonds, slivered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon olive oil (or olive oil with a squeeze of lemon)
2 grapefruit, sectioned
1 shallot, diced
2 ounces Meyer lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 teaspoon mustard
About 1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon honey (or, for vegans, use 1 teaspoon sugar)
12 cups arugula
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Slice the dates and remove the pit. Cut them into rounds about 2 millimeters thick.
Toast the almonds, then toss with salt and lemon olive oil. Let cool.
To section the grapefruit, cut the skin and white pith off along the grapefruit, then slice into the flesh alongside each membrane. Turn your knife alongside the flesh and pull it out.. To section a grapefruit, see step-by-step instructions here.
Make the dressing: Place diced shallot in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice over it. Stir in mustard. Once combined, whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Add sugar to taste for balance.
To assemble the salad: toss arugula with dressing — only use enough for a light coating (you may have extra). Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.
Place a heaping mound of arugula in the center of plate. Layer and tuck the other ingredients: start with the dates, then almonds, then grapefruit. Build the salad around the arugula and allow the other ingredients to be the bones. Serve with toast points.
Serves 8.
