Fruitier vegetable salad

December 26, 2004
Filed under Asia & beyond, Healthy veggies

Adding fruits to a vegetable salad not only adds color and a better variety in texture. It also makes the salad more appetizing and palatable for those who are not keen on salads made entirely with raw vegetables. My family’s first experiment with the mix of fruit and vegetable was the vegetable and apple salad. When it proved successful with our kids and with dinner guests, my husband suggested adding oranges.

Fruitier vegetable salad

As the name implies, this is a much fruitier version of my earlier fresh fruit and vegetable salad. It has romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, parsley, apples, pears, oranges and seedless grapes. All fresh. It went wonderfully with the grilled tuna belly that we served yesterday on the occasion of our 13th wedding anniversary.

If you use vinegar as the base for your salad dressing, try substituting kalamansi (native lemon), lemon or lime juice. You can also expriment with the proportions of the citrus juice with the olive oil.

Finally, when mixing fruits and vegetables, try to create a good balance. Too many fruits with too little vegetables will make the salad rather too sweet. Too much vegetables and it won’t tempt the non-salad lovers.

Serve a good salad with any plain grilled, broiled or fried meat or seafood and the plainness evaporates like magic.