Tatsoi-Citrus Salad

A trip to the local farmer’s market yielded unexpected results today. I found locally grown absolutely magnificent fresh Tatsoi! Prior to this, I had only spotted Tatsoi in markets in East Asia or in fancy restaurants in NYC, so this unexpected find made my day.  The dark green spoon shaped leaves (it is also called Spoon Cabbage) were fresh and crunchy and it would have been criminal to cook this gorgeous head of Tatsoi, so I used it in a citrus salad.  Tatsoi belongs to the mustard family and so it has a sharp bite to it, so I combined it with seedless Clementines and orange marmalade vinegar.  I added a little bit of red bell pepper to bring out the contrasts of the bright colors – the result was a vibrant visual feast. You can just imagine the burst of vitamins and nutrients that must have coursed through me all day! And of course, it was a deliciously pungent, yet satisfying salad.

Ingredients:

1.    1 head of fresh Tatsoi
2.    3 small ripe Clementines
3.    ½ red bell pepper
4.    A few slices of a red onion
5.    25 roasted almonds
6.    A pinch of salt
7.    ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
8.    ½ tablespoon of Dijon mustard
9.    ½ honey
10.    1 tablespoon of Orange Marmalade
11.    1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
12.    Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

1.    Peel and thinly slice the three Clementines and place them in a large salad bowl.
2.    Thinly slice the red onion and wash the slices under cold water (this allows some of the pungency to be washed off) and then dry them with a paper towel.
3.    Slice the red bell pepper into bite sized pieces and place them in the bowl.

4.    Wash the head of Tatsoi under cold water and dry it completely with kitchen towels or in a salad spinner. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut just the leaves off the Tatsoi and place the leaves in the salad bowl.  The stems of Tatsoi are edible but would be a bit stringy in the salad, so I didn’t use them in the salad. But they add a lot of flavor to vegetable broth so I’ll keep them for use later.

5.    Using a sharp knife coarsely chop the roasted almonds.  Add the chopped almonds and the onion pieces to the bowl.

6.    Combine the Dijon mustard, Orange marmalade, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small dish and whisk them all together till the liquids get emulsified to make a dressing.

7.    Drizzle the dressing over the salad bowl and toss everything together (gently) with a pair of salad serves.
8.    Serve the salad immediately so that the leaves do not wilt from the dressing.

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