Grapefruit and Avocado Green Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

A green salad recipe with bright pink grapefruit slices, creamy avocado, and bits of purple radicchio and red onion brought together with a citrus vinaigrette to chase the cold away this winter.

Each morning we are chess pieces in our checkerboard of a home, sliding by each other and hip-checking one another out of the way. It is an intricate dance – who can occupy the bathroom and which times, family members twirling past and side stepping around in the kitchen as breakfasts and lunches are prepared.

Boiling water releases steam from the stove. The bathroom door opens and then closes again with another occupant behind it. Snowpants and backpacks and gloves begin to pile high in the living room as they are gathered for the day.

The whole time the cold beats at the windows.

“Winter is here. Winter is here,” it whispers, as we rush about, gathering our moxie to face it head on.

It is finally cold. After a mild start to the year, filled with 20- and 30-degree days and lows that just barely drop down to zero, this weekend we were met well-below-zero temps accompanied by wind chills that make your face and eyes hurt.

We’re dressing in layers, undershirts followed by sweaters with scarves wrapped to chins. Hooded sweatshirts are coveted possessions. Blankets are strewn across the living room, a sea of soft which we eagerly dive into as we read and do homework.

Soups and stews are on the menu, anything that causes me to turn on the oven to add a bit of insular warmth against the cold outside. Warm soup and bread is a staple this time of year, something pulled out after the summer months where we pretend they don’t exist, instead favoring sautéed vegetables, anything grilled, and a rainbow of color from the market and the backyard garden.

Alongside our bowls of steaming food, though, you’ll find this salad, a bit of green in a sea of root vegetables and broth. The sunshine flavors of warmer states’ citrus providing a much-needed burst of freshness in the middle of winter.

This salad combines one of my favorite fruits with plenty of soft, butter lettuce, never-out-of-season avocadoes, and a bit of bite from the radicchio. The citrus vinaigrette gets a hint of sweetness from the grapefruit juice and a creamy consistency from yogurt. Fresh thyme adds a bit of fragrance and depth to this easy dressing.

Grapefruit and Avocado Green Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 head butter lettuce, approximately 5-6 cups torn
• 1/2 cup finely chopped radicchio
• 1 large pink or red grapefruit, supremed into slices
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
• For the citrus vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup whole fat plain Greek-style yogurt
• 1 small lime, juiced
• 2-3 tablespoons grapefruit juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions

In a large salad bowl, toss together the butter lettuce, radicchio, grapefruit slices, avocado, and the red onion. Reserve the inner membrane and skin from the grapefruit and juice it. Reserve the juice for the vinaigrette.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the yogurt, lime juice, and the reserved grapefruit juice. Add in the oil. Stir in the thyme, salt, and pepper.

Before serving, pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat.

Notes

If your grapefruit is on the tart side, you can whisk in a 1/2-1 teaspoon of honey in order to sweeten the vinaigrette.

This post is a part of Eat Seasonal, hosted by Becky of The Vintage Mixer. Check out what everyone is making midwinter with citrus and root vegetables and more, and follow along via social media by using the hashtag #eatseasonal [Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest].

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