Mandarin Salad (Finger Salad)

Mandarin Salad (Finger Salad)

So I did something really stupid last night. I sliced off a good size chunk of the fleshy part of my thumb. How? Well, with this lovely contraption, my beloved mandoline.


I was slicing onions for a salad that I was taking to a dinner party. I was in a rush and so I decided to forgo the use of the safety gripper and just held the onion with my fingers as I sliced. Brilliant, I know. It hurt like a son of a b.. and it wouldn't stop bleeding. I wrapped it up as best I could, started the salad over and went to the dinner party. I got a mix of sympathy and teasing from the other guests. I told them that I was careless and didn't deserve sympathy. What I deserved was to mocked and mocked severely. They were more than happy to oblige.

The salad turned out great and my friend Carl, renamed it Finger Salad in my honour. Gee, sweet.

A slightly sweet dressing with the crunchiness of sugared almonds makes this an outstanding salad.

Serves: 12-15

1/2 cup vegetable oil/olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup sugar
2 head romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped celery
2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onions

1. Shake first 6 dressing ingredients in a jar and refrigerate.

2. Stir almonds and sugar in a small pan over medium heat until sugar melts and starts to caramelize and almonds are very lightly toasted. Keep your eye on these, they'll burn quickly. Scrape almonds into metal bowl and cool to room temperature. Break up the cooled almonds and store covered at room temperature.

3. Just before serving, put chopped lettuce in a large bowl. Add celery, oranges, onions and almonds.

4. Shake dressing well and pour over salad. Toss to mix and coat.

No comments:

 
Dragon's Kitchen - Copyright 2007-2010