Butter Lettuce Salad with Cacao Nib Vinaigrette

This fairly simple yet colourful and fun salad plays on different textures and flavours of bitter cacao nibs, tender&sweet butter lettuce, tart&chewy dried cherries, creaminess of silky avocado and juicy sweet mandarin orange.
Cacao nibs, aka cocoa nibs, are fermented and crushed bits of dried cacao beans. They are naturally sugar-free and provide a rich source of fiber, protein, healthy fats and minerals.

Vinaigrette	Salad
2 tbsp Cacao nibs 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp Walnut oil 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp Minced shallot 1/3 tsp Black salt (or regular sea salt) 1/2 tsp Pul biber pepper flakes	1 head Butter lettuce, washed, rinsed, core removed and leaves torn into large pieces 1 Avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced (or diced) 2 Mandarins, peeled and separated (or clementines or blood oranges) 50 g Dried cherries 2 tbsp Cacao nibs 1 tbsp Parsley, chopped

For the vinaigrette, pulse the cacao nibs in a spice grinder until finely ground, 4 to 5 pulses.
Combine the ground cocoa nibs and the walnut oil and olive oil in a small saucepan and heat on low until warm and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Add the vinegar, shallot, salt, and red pepper flakes, and let sit for about 25 minutes. Transfer to a jar, twist on the lid, and shake well until you have a homogeneous-looking dressing.
Toss lettuce with half of the vinaigrette or to taste. Divide dressed lettuce between 2 serving dishes. Arrange remaining salad ingredients over the lettuce. Serve with any remaining vinaigrette on the side.

5 comments:

The Velvet Runway 24/10/24 12:55: This sounds and looks amazing! I love the addition of cocoa nibs.
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Tom 24/10/24 14:13: ...the mandarins is a sweet addition.
Lola Martínez 24/10/24 14:41: Una combinación de ingredientes original que deben imprimir un sabor distinto a la clásica ensalada. La encuentro muy buena.
DEZMOND 24/10/24 15:53: I really like the colour combination in that plate. I will roast some potatoes tomorrow, methinks, I have a sore throat and need me some hearty food.
Brian's Home Blog 24/10/24 16:07: That's a very pretty and yummy looking salad!