Vietnamese Ruby Grapefruit Salad

It is warm enough here to still be enjoying salads and I can't tell you how much I love this one. This Winter we have been very fortunate that our friend Paul's ruby grapefruit tree is yielding a bumper crop and when he very generously gave us some I wanted to create a salad with a few of them.  I hope beautiful grapefruit are  available for my readers in the Northern Hemisphere this summer. We are also enjoying them fresh with brekkie as well. The wonderful thing about creating salads is that the ingredients can change depending on what is in season and what you have on hand, and with this oh so tasty salad dressing, all the of the ingredients come together to tantalise the taste buds.

This recipe  is based on one by Lands and Flavours, http://www.landsandflavors.com/thai-grapefruit-salad/ however mine is a little bit more Vietnamese I think, and that is the wonderful think about creating salads, the fusion of flavours that evolves.

A combination of ruby and white grapefruit can be used with the ruby grapefruit bringing so much colour and zing to this salad. Can you believe my mouth is watering even as I think about it?

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 cups of peeled and segmented pink grapefruit (around 2 to 3 grapefruits)
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
2 small tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges or  1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes halved
1 small cayenne chilli, sliced thinly (these aren't very hot)
1 large shallot or 2 spring onions, thinly sliced and fried
1/2 cup coriander leaves and tender stems, roughly torn or chopped
1/2  cup mint, roughly torn and chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts OR roasted cashews

Variations to this salad:

• Substitute sweet basil leaves for the mint and coriander if that is what you prefer or have on hand (not everyone likes coriander)
•  Add a splash of coconut milk (about 2 tablespoons) to the dressing for a little more complexity
• A combination of ruby and white grapefruit can be used
• Add shredded chicken to the salad for a complete meal
• Add some Chang's Fried noodles for extra crunch, the kids will love it
• Add 3 tablespoons of fresh shredded coconut if you are lucky enough to have coconuts, or 2 tablespoons dried, unsweetened coconut
• If you're not serving this with a green or red cabbage salad, or a wombok salad, add 2 cups of baby greens to the mix

Can you see how versatile this salad can be? I've made it a few times now and it is different but equally delicious each time.

DRESSING :

2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
2 teaspoons sugar (use white, palm or brown sugar)
1 teaspoon srircha chilli sauce, available from the supermarket (secret ingredient)
Pinch of sea salt
Stir all of the ingredients and set aside until the sugar is dissolved.

PREPARATION:

1. Into a large bowl place the segmented and peeled grapefruit, with membrane removed. (Mr. HRK did a great job of peeling, segmenting and removing the white membrane for me.)
2.  Add the carrot, cucumber, tomato, chilli, fried shallot, coriander and mint. 
3. Make the dressing.
4. Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice,lime zest, sugar, zriracha and salt in a small bowl. When the sugar is dissolved, pour this over the grapefruit and veggies. The dressing can be made well in advance.
5. Carefully combine the dressing and the fruit and the vegetables, without breaking up the grapefruit. Adjust the seasoning to taste if necessary. 
6. Transfer the salad to a serving plate and garnish liberally with the chopped peanuts.
7. Serve immediately

To fry shallots, thinly slice the shallot and fry half  in 3 tablespoons of mild olive oil in a small saucepan. Remove to a sheet of paper towel when golden and crisp. Fry the second batch of the shallot. Try to keep the pieces separate so that they stay crisp.

This salad is delicious served with my Vietnamese Pulled Pork and a perhaps a Red Cabbage or Crispy Noodle Wombok Salad. (Good recipe for the latter available on the back of the Chang's Original Fried Noodle packet.)

I hope you can go outside and enjoy some sunshine today. I will be.

Warm wishes

Pauline