Avocado and Orange Salad with Lime Mint Dressing

Earlier in the month, I eagerly read Amanda Hesser's musings in the New York Times about orange salads. Like her, I can't remember ever ordering an orange salad in a restaurant or eating one at a dinner party. But after making an Orange and Avocado salad this weekend for a lunch with friends, I won't make that mistake again.

I'm constantly in search of a great side salad - not one with lettuce or a traditional mix like a bean salad, but something more interesting, a salad that not only tastes delicious but looks fabulous as well.

This Orange and Avocado Salad accomplishes both. The colors are stunning, the flavors balanced. The texture and tang of the orange mesh perfectly with the avocado's creaminess. Throw in some diced red onion and a lime mint vinaigrette and you get a salad that is perfect for a spring time lunch. So while I'll be serving this dish again in my home, l'm not sure about any restaurants. But don't worry, I will have plenty to go around.

Avocado and Orange Salad with Lime Mint Vinaigrette
Adapted very loosely from Amanda Hesser for the New York Times

You can make this salad in any quantity. I made it for what I thought would be 7, but turned out to be for 10. I used 5 large oranges and 2 small ones (so let's estimate 6 large oranges) and 4 large avocados. For 4 servings, like I made the other night for dinner, use 2-3 large oranges and 1 large avocado.

Salad:
2-3 large oranges
1 large avocado

Dressing:
1/4 cup canola oil
juice of 1 small lime
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
2 tablespoons red onion, minced

Prep the produce: Cut the ends off of each orange and then holding the orange on its flat end on a board, cut off the peel and pith. Try to remove as much white pith as possible. Once the orange is peeled, turn it on its side and cut it into slices. Let stand for 30 minutes to drain off excess liquid.

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. Peel off the skin and place the avocado flat on a board. Slicing lengthwise, from one end to the other, gently cut the avocado into 4 or 5 thin slices. Arrange on a plate and place the oranges on top or in the middle.

Make the dressing: Combine ingredients together and mix thoroughly. I found that the mint turned a bit brown overnight so if making the dressing ahead of time, add the mint just before serving.

Assemble the salad: Lay the avocado slices in a circle or vertically on a large plate. Place the oranges inside the circle or on top of the avocado slices. Drizzle dressing over the top.

*Note: to keep avocados from turning brown, squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the flesh. With that said, avocados don't keep well once sliced so be sure to slice the avocado just before serving.

Carrot and Tahini Soup with Pita Crisps

I remember when I was a child and I first learned that carrots were good for your vision, I started eating them incessantly. Every day I would eat carrot sticks and pray that my orange obsession would pay off and I wouldn't ever need glasses. Well, twenty years later I have two pairs of reading glasses but that hasn't tempered by interest and appreciation for the carrot. You can make it into juice, put it in a cake, eat it with peanut butter, hummus or the dip of your choice. They last for weeks on end in the fridge, are inexpensive and easy to prepare.

You can also make Carrot Soup and I suggest you make this one that appeared in the New York Times a few days ago. The soup is nutty and earthy with the unmistakable tinge of lemon juice that cuts the thickness and keeps the soup light enough for an early spring day that feels like summer. Pair the soup with easy-to-make pita crisps for a great dinner and plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

The crisps couldn't be easier to make. Cut pita bread into slivers.

Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes until crisp.

Carrot and Tahini Soup With Pita Crisps
Adapted from the New York Times

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for pita crisps
1 fat leek (or 2 slim ones), white part only, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Pinch of cayenne
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 quart vegetable broth
2 pita breads, each cut into 16 wedges
1/3 cup tahini
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or mint (I was out of both. Flat leaf parsley would be tasty as well.)

In a soup pot over medium heat, pour in oil, then add leek and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric and cayenne, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add carrots and stir to coat them with leek mixture. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add broth,  and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, partly cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush pita wedges with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake until brown and crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

When carrots are tender, turn off heat and let soup cool for 10 minutes.  Stir in tahini. Using either an immersion blender, standard blender or food processor, purée soup until smooth. Return to pot and reheat if necessary. Taste and add lemon juice and more salt if desired.

Serve soup garnished with the lemon zest, cilantro/mint and pita crips.

Passover Lemon Cheesecake

In typical Day 6 Passover-style, I'm maxed out and have had my fill of matzvah and other Passover "goodies" - you know, macaroons, chocolate sponge cake and sweet matzah kugels, that really aren't so great after all. In reality, I'm maxed out after day 1 or 2 but as this holiday and its food restrictions stay with us for a week plus, I'm left with two choices - either succumb to crumbly, dry and overly sweet Passover desserts or take it upon myself to try and break the status quo.

I chose the latter and perused the search results for "Passover Desserts" on Epicurious. This cheesecake popped up as number one in the search results. It makes sense. Think about it, cheesecake does use remarkably few ingredients. The filling is just cream cheese with some accouterments (this filling calls for only 4 ingredients in total- cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest). And I figured- correctly- that a few Passover substitutions wouldn't ruin a traditional graham cracker crust. The crust is tasty, albeit a bit crumbly, but it does bake up and brown quickly and holds the filling in place. The filling is both sweet and tangy, not overly heavy but still rich. And the strawberries? I figured that even a kosher for Passover cake should be just as pretty as a "regular" one.


I'm confident this dessert will more than suffice for the next few days. Don't you think?

Passover Lemon Cheesecake
Adapted from Gourmet, April 2008

When it's not Passover, a regular graham cracker crust like this one will work well. The Passover recipe called for 3/4 cup ground almonds to be used in lieu of matzah meal. I don't have a food processor that I can use on Passover (if you aren't following, you can read more about the rules associated with cooking on Passover) and with the prospect of grinding almonds by hand unappealing, I followed the suggestions posted by other readers and substituted in matzah meal. I would skip the almonds all together next time and just use the matzah meal.

I also do not have a mixer (Kitchenaid or hand) that I can use on Passover, so I mixed the cream cheese together by hand. As long as the cream cheese is room temperature, it's not that hard to do and will only take about 5 to 7 minutes of mixing to ensure a smooth texture.

For crust
3/4 cup matzah meal
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup matzah cake meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

For filling
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Strawberries, or other fruit, for topping

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Stir together matzah meal, matzah cake meal, sugar, and salt. Stir in butter until combined well, using your hands to mix everything together. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9 inch springform pan. Bake until crust is firm and a shade darker, about 15 minutes. Cool crust completely in pan on a rack.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, then reduce speed to low and add in eggs one at at time, then add zest and vanilla. If mixing by hand, add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together for 5-7 minutes until smooth.

Put springform pan in a shallow baking pan (to catch any filling that may leak through the pan) and pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until filling is set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center is wobbly, 45 to 50 minutes (filling will continue to set as it cools). Transfer cake in pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around edge, then remove side of pan. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours. Decorate the top of the cake with sliced strawberries or other fruit of choice.

Cake will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.