Spring Salad Of Watermelon Watercress And Scallions With A Shallot Citrus Vinaigrette Recipes

Steps:

• Wash the greens well and discard any tough stems. Tear into bite size pieces.
• Working over a bowl to catch the juices, peel the grapefruits and oranges and cut between the membranes to remove the sections. Remove the seeds. Place the grapefruit and orange supremes in another bowl, reserving the juice. Add onion to bowl with supremes and mix.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the chipotle chiles, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of reserved grapefruit/orange juice.
• To serve, pour dressing over fruit, add greens and toss lightly. Arrange on a platter or among 4 salad plates and garnish with avocado slices.

Steps:

• Combine the watercress, grapefruit supremes and juice, orange supremes and juice, olive oil and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Prepare the dressing: Combine garlic, chiles and sugar in the bowl of a large mortar and pestle. Pound into a fine paste. Add fish sauce and stir with the pestle until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime juice and stir with the pestle to incorporate. Alternatively, you can combine the garlic, chiles, palm sugar (chop it into bits with a heavy knife or cleaver if it came in solid chunks), fish sauce and lime juice in a blender. Blend until the garlic and chiles are finely chopped, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Prepare the salad: If using homemade shallots, skip to Step 3. If using store-bought shallots, toast them dry in a large skillet over medium-low heat until deep caramel brown and aromatic, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, you can toast the shallots on a sheet tray in an oven or toaster oven at 375 degrees until deep caramel brown, about 6 minutes). Season generously with salt and transfer to a bowl.
• Combine watermelon, onion, cucumber, mint, cilantro, peanuts, half of the fried shallots and ¼ cup dressing in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as desired. (Excess dressing can be reserved in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks.) Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with remaining shallots. Serve.

Steps:

• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and halve when cool enough to handle; set aside. Blanch the shelled broad beans and the asparagus in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain in a sieve and cool under running cold water. Drain again, fish out the asparagus, then peel off the hard outer skins from the beans - make a nick in the tops and pop the beans out. Blanch the shelled peas in a separate pan for 1 minute. Toss the asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes and prosciutto together.
• For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until really smooth and bright green. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, toss the salad leaves with a spoonful or two of dressing and arrange on plates. Pile the vegetable mixture on top, season, then drizzle over the remaining dressing and scatter with the pecorino.