Grapefruit, Mache, & Avocado Salad

Things heated up here in Marin today, so it was salad for dinner. This salad of mache, with grapefruit, avocado, black beans, cheese with black olives, and, post-picture, a handful of pistachios, was light and satisfying.

The salad was inspired by the recipe on the back of the bag of Trader Joe's Organic Mache, entitiled Mache Salad with Avocado, Grapefruit, Macadamia Nuts and Citrus Vinaigrette. I made the Citrus Vinaigrette (grapefruit juice, lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, S&P) and it was surprisingly sweet and pleasant. In addition to the mache, grapefruit, and avocado, I added black beans and a newly discovered semi-soft cheese with specks of black olive. The beans were good, but not memorable, and the salad greatly improved with the crunchy saltiness of the pitachios.

I'm also happy to report, I purchased a new knife to execute my new knife skills learned from Shuna. This very sharp little paring knife with a cover to keep it from blunting, was the perfect tool for peeling and supreming the grapefruit for this recipe. I purchased one knife singly for $8.95 in the store.