Nalo Wildgreen Salad with Crispy Wontons and Tangerine Vinaigrette
The Waimanalo district on the island of Oahu has become a big producer of fresh gourmet produce. Locals affectionately refer to the area as ‘Nalo. The egg yolks in the vinaigrette can be deleted if you like. This salad would be delicious with duck entrees.
Ingredients
- Crispy Wontons
- Peanut Oil - 2 cups
- Wonton wrappers - one 3-ounce package (24 count), cut into julienne
- Tangerine Vinaigrette
- Egg Yolks - 6 to 8
- Dijon-style mustard - 3/4 cup, whole-grain
- Cider Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
- Tangerine juice or orange juice concentrate - 2 cups
- Sugar - 3/4 cup
- Salt - 2 tablespoons
- Ground Pepper - 1 tablespoon
- Macadamia nut oil or walnut oil - 1/4 cup
- Butter Lettuce - 1 head
- Radicchio - 1 head
- Red Leaf Lettuce - 1 head
- Okinawan spinach or arugula - 6 cups, stemmed
- Chives - 4, snipped
- Cider Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Red Bell Pepper - 1, seeded, deribbed, and diced
- Garnish
- Orange - 1, cut into 6 to 8 crosswise slices
- Black Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Edible Flowers - 6 to 12
Instructions
To make the wontons: In a wok over medium heat, heat the oil until a wonton strip sizzles and rises to the top when submerged. Add the wonton strips and cook until browned and crisp, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon or wire skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain. Do not crowd the pan; fry in batches if necessary, letting the oil come back to temperature between each batch.
To make the vinaigrette: In a blender whip the egg yolks until thickened. Add all the other ingredients except the oil and blend. With the machine running, gradually add the oil to make a smooth sauce.
Tear the lettuce and radicchio leaves into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, mix the lettuces and spinach or arugula.
Submerge the chives in ice water until crisp, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, and pepper. Add the diced pepper and mix.
To serve: Toss the greens with some of the vinaigrette. Swirl vinaigrette on each plate. Mound about 1-1/2 cups of crispy wontons in the center of each plate. Garnish the borders with the bell pepper mixture and orange slices. Arrange the greens on top of the pepper and orange slices. Drizzle more vinaigrette on top if desired. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and garnish with chives or 1 or 2 flowers.
