I have always enjoyed having my girls in the kitchen with me, and especially love having little ones in the kitchen. Over the years our palates have become more sophisticated and we have all become more bold in the dishes we are willing to try. One of our family's favorite recipes is Moroccan Salad. On a trip to Morocco, we discovered that our salad wasn't really authentic, but we still call it Moroccan. When we lived on Bay Shore Road in Sarasota, we had citrus fruit trees, grapefruit, naval oranges, and lemons, and we also had a huge mango tree in our yard. I would use either grapefruit or mango in our Moroccan Salad. So here it is!
Moroccan Salad
2 grapefruits or 1 large mango, peeled and sliced thinly
1 head Romaine lettuce
2 apples, thinly sliced
2 pears, thinly sliced, optional
12 dates, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sugared walnuts
low fat oil and balsamic vinaigrette
freshly ground pepper
Wash and break Romaine in a large salad bowl. Lay grapefruit slices or mango slices on top. Layer on the apples, pears, and dates.
Melt 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup walnuts, just as sugar has become liquid. Stir quickly to moisten nuts and pour onto aluminum foil to cool. Break into pieces when cool and sprinkle on top of salad.
Toss salad lightly with dressing, grind fresh pepper over all, and serve. Yum!
