This salad has got a lot of tricks up its sleeves. Yes, it is refreshing and light and but it is also very hearty and filling! Citrusy grapefruit with nutty quinoa, creamy avocado, punchy red onion and floral cilantro are tossed with some tender greens and salty feta. It gets a surprise sweet and spicy crunch from chopped pumpkin seed brittle. This salad is a very unexpectedly delicious combo that I cannot get enough of this citrus season!
Here’s everything you need:
When it comes to citrus, grapefruit can be sort of an underdog. But if you eat it at just the right time, it really shines. Right now they are in season and while they do maintain a slight bitterness, they are also juicy, sweet and very refreshing!
Supreming the grapefruit will keep a lot of its bitterness at bay.
This is because the segments are removed and the pith is left behind. Start by slicing off the top and bottom of the rind and stand the grapefruit upright on your cutting board. Then, carefully run a sharp knife just inside the rind, removing the rind and the pith, leaving the just the pink flesh behind.
Now slice between the lines, removing the pith-free segments. You could leave your slices whole, but I prefer cutting each slice into 2 or three pieces to get a little grapefruit in each bite. Save the remaining grapefruit carcass because there is a lot of good juice in there that you are going to use to dress your salad.
This salad has a good amount of sharp and punchy flavors, so it needs something sweet to balance it out. My spicy pumpkin seed brittle is made with coconut palm sugar, which has a nice round and toasty caramel flavor that doesn’t overwhelm the other ingredients. Brittle in a salad may seem like unusual addition, but it’s no different than adding candied nuts. It gives the salad just the right amount of sweetness and a great crunch! I’ll post the recipe at the end of this page or you can just find the post here.
Pop everything into a bowl then squeeze the remaining grapefruit juice. Drizzle a little olive oil and add a tiny pinch of salt.
Give the salad a toss and you are ready to serve!
Other recipes to try:
Perfect Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large grapefruit supreme and large diced, carcass reserved for juice
- 1 avocado large diced
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 ounces feta crumbled
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 2 tbsp red onion very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped spicy pepita brittle
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- salt
- olive oil
Instructions
- Toss everything together. Squeeze the remaining grapefruit juice from the carcass all over the salad. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup pepitas roasted, unsalted
Instructions
- Heat the sugar, honey, water, salt, cinnamon and cayenne over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves then continue to heat until the caramel reaches 300 degrees. Turn off the heat and quickly stir in the pepitas. Pour onto a pan lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Use a rubber spatula to spread the brittle out as thinly as possible. Allow to cool completely then break into shards. Keep at room temperature in an airtight container.
I’m going to make this. Looks delicious.