Michele's Original California Salad
and screenplay teacher Michele Em (Joanna's astral twin) makes what she simply calls California Salad. The artistic combination of typical Southern Californian ingredients make this dish truly memorable She says, “I like most the appearance of simple whole lettuce leaves forming green blossoms on the plate." Whenever I eat this, my blood knows it is on the warm West Coast. ~ Mark
Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup Michele's Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 head Butter or Bibb lettuce, separated into full leaves
1 large avocado, peeled, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
pinch Fleur De Sel, or sea salt
| 1 | Lay 2 to 3 large petals of butter leaf lettuce on each salad plate, then continue layering with smaller leaves to form a blossom. |
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| 2 | Shake vinaigrette and dress salad. |
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| 3 | Top with avocado chunks, then sprinkle with pine nuts. Drizzle dressing on each salad, making sure to deliver some tomatoes, onions and radishes to each plate. Sprinkle with a touch of Fleur de Sel. |
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notes
Two variations on serving: Let guests "build" their own salad with side plates of Avocado chunks, pine nuts, dressing, and a bowl of Fleur de Sel. Another stunning presentation is to make one large salad to pass around.
