Saturday, September 12, 2009

What Luck Polluck Salad and a Lesson in Dialect

zaar

Have you had your salad today? Salads are my Achilles heel. I confess that many times after I have rushed about a hot kitchen, fussing with 'le plat principal' I am lazy about salad. Too often I am content to cut up tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers on my plate and call it a day. Is it any wonder then, that I get to the point where I actually crave a salad?

I usually don't bother with recipes for salads preferring instead to use what is seasonal and to go with a formula of fruits, vegetables, beans or peas, sometimes nuts. If the salad is going to be eaten as a meal on it's own then I'll toss in cheese, eggs or meat.

These days it's all about avocado. An American friend once told me that she hated avocado. I could not understand why until I had the displeasure of eating one in the States. At first I did not even recognize it and I had to ask several times to be sure it was an avocado. The thing was so black and quail-up, quail-up, like an over-large prune. The repetition there is not a typo but dialect to express the idea that it was very shriveled and small. The skin was bumpy-bumpy. The pear itself was flavourless and watery-watery. No, I don't stammer or have Tourette's. Repeating a word denotes the sense of 'very' in local dialect and best conveys just how very awful this aberration of an avocado looked and tasted!

In the Caribbean we are truly blessed with tasty avocados. My favourite is a West Indian variety called Pollock. The leathery skin peels off easily. It has a firm texture with none of the annoying little fibers of the maroon-skinned variety. The deep, yellow colour doesn't discolour as quickly. It has a firm, yet smooth and creamy texture with an almost buttery taste.

Luckily I have 2 friends with Pollock trees, so there are always at least 3 sitting on my kitchen counter on any given day during the avocado season. You'd think with such an abundance that I'd be tired of avocados by now. No such luck. In this house a Pollock is coveted almost as much as a Julie mango and slices are rationed and measured; arguments abound about who has been sneaking pieces.

As you can see from the picture, I had some ingredients (olives, croutons and some blue cheese) left over from another salad. I did not want them to go to waste so I threw them in, turning this into those 'evil' high fat restaurant salads. You know the ones that you sanctimoniously order at the restaurant with friends because you are dieting. You feel so proud of yourself for your healthy choice. Ha! Luscious lobster in garlic butter sauce you are no match for my willpower! Look away Venezuelan fried pork thingy that looks so interesting! Does it taste like garlic pork you wonder? Never mind I am having the salad. Of course these salads fool you into thinking they are healthy but by the time you add up the fats, you might as well have ordered the steak.

Here is the basic recipe with my kitchen-dump extras left off.
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* 1 lb boneless chicken strips (you can use chicken breasts but I prefer the more succulent meat of the legs and thighs.)
* 2 teaspoons hot and spicy Jamaican jerk spice (2 tsp is the amount recommended but I put 2 to 3 tbsp. It's to your taste.)
* 1/4 cup cooking butter
* 6 cups torn lettuce
* 8 cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
* 1/2 medium avocado, pitted peeled and coarsely chopped


Lime Vinaigrettte

* 1/4 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar if that's all you have on hand)
* 3 tablespoons lime juice
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh culantro (or substitute 2 tablespoons cilantro)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 dash fresh coarse ground black pepper

Method

The chicken can be done the day before. Rub legs and thighs with butter and jerk seasonings. Marinate for 1/2 hr or overnight. Grill or roast in 375°F oven for 45 mins to an hour or until chicken is no longer pink when pierced with a fork. Baste chicken with butter throughout cooking process.

In a screw top jar, combine 1/4 cup oil, lime juice, culantro (or sub cilantro, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and dash black pepper. Cover and shake well to make the dressing.

Put lettuce on 4 salad plates. Top with chicken, tomatoes, and avocado. Drizzle with dressing.

18 comments:

  1. Sounds like a most delicious salad.. love the colrs and all the flavors. Nice photo to boot!!

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  2. Wow this looks really beautiful and tasty. I love jerk chicken. A must try. Thanks Kathy.

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  3. Thanks Donna and Kathy for stopping by.

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  4. i LOVE the avocado--it completely enhances practically any dish, especially salads. the chicken you've included is deliciously-spiced, and that vinaigrette sounds perfect! lime + avocado = utter bliss. :)

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  5. The avocados even taste different from tree to tree and from island to island. I have a tree in my yard and it really gives an avocado with a texture that like thick butter, it is so creamy. My mom who's visiting had one today and commented that it has been years since she had such an excellent pear.

    The salad is awesomely colourful.

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  6. I LOVE avocado and my mom is from Trinidad but I've never heard of pollock! It sounds so good!

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  7. Great salad, so colourful! I adore avocados.

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  8. Thank you very much in your way and I crack on your lovely salad .. I go through google translate to write, but I do not know if English is a good translation site ... Anyway bravo ... soon!!

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  9. If only salad was my Achilles heel, then i would be so nice and thin :D. Beautiful looking salad!

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  10. Sounds like a lovely salad. I love the burst of colors in it.
    Check out my version with a salad nicoise at http://www.phamfatale.com/id_510/title_Nicoise-Salad-Salad-Nicoise/

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  11. what a colorful, healthy, wonderful looking salad!

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  12. Loved the commentary. :) I don't eat salad near enough. This one is definitely making me crave one.. it looks and sounds so delicious!

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  13. Oh, I love salads! All kinds... but with avocado are my favourite and yours look amazing!!! :)

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  14. Oh man, the avocados we get here are the saddest looking things on earth and the cost a fortune. In NYC, it is particularly bad. They are either bright green and hard as a rock or black and shrivled. Drives me nuts. That salad looks great.

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  15. I crave salads a lot too, especially when I have a lot of rich food. I ate a lot of rich food in France and all I wanted was a big salad. I would've loved one like this! :)

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  16. your salad is an invitation to Holidays !!
    and if you like pistachio come and see my blog I have chef dessert with a bonbon on top !!see you Pierre

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  17. Haha I was expecting to come over here and find a gourmet recipe for chicken foot soup! I saw your comment on my blog about it so I decided to check out your blog. WOW some tasty looking stuff here and the blog looks fabulous. Nice and clean layout.

    And I'm gonna make this avocado recipe....I love avocado.

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