Asian-inspired grapefruit salad

A full-flavour way to celebrate citrus!

This salad is ideal anytime of the day – serve it as part of a brunch, lunch or even as a dinnertime appetizer. With its gentle hot-salty-sour-sweet notes, common in many Asian dishes, the dressing is bright and flavourful without being overpowering. Depending upon where you live, butter lettuce is sometimes labeled as ‘Boston’ or ‘Bibb’; if you can’t find it, romaine or leaf lettuce would work well. You can section the grapefruit, toast the coconut and prepare the dressing up to 12 hours in advance but the salad should be assembled immediately prior to serving. If you’re a fan of citrus-forward salads, as I am, you might also like this one with arugula and pomegranate.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (26 g) light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek (chili garlic sauce), to taste
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sesame oil
• Few pinches salt
• 1/2 cup (45 g) shredded coconut
• 3 grapefruit (preferably ruby red)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup (50 g) chopped peanuts
• 1/2 cup (25 g) cilantro leaves
• Butter lettuce leaves, to serve

Method

• In a jar with a tight lid, shake sugar and water together. Add Sambal Oelek, lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil and salt; shake again. Taste and adjust amount of sugar, Sambal Oelek and/or lime to suit your tastes. Set aside (refrigerate if preparing hours in advance).
• In a small skillet placed over medium heat, toast coconut until golden brown, stirring often (it should take about 3-4 minutes). Transfer to a small plate to cool.
• Remove peel and white pith from grapefruit. With a sharp knife, cut out segments of fruit and place in a bowl, leaving membrane behind. Cut large segments in half. Cover and refrigerate if preparing in advance.
• When ready to assemble, drain off grapefruit juice in the bowl with the segments. Shake dressing to blend again then drizzle about two-thirds of it over the grapefruit and toss gently.
• Line four broad bowls with lettuce leaves. Divide grapefruit and dressing evenly among the four bowls, spooning on top of lettuce. Scatter toasted coconut, minced shallot, chopped peanuts and cilantro leaves over top. Serve immediately, passing remaining dressing at the table.

Serves 4.