(NC) As the seasons change, so should your meals and the ingredients you add to them. Each season offers its own unique variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that can be added to recipes for a boost of freshness and originality.
“Winter is peak season for Florida grapefruit, the sweetest and juiciest variety of grapefruit in the world,” says Emily Richards, a home economist. “And that’s just one benefit of this healthy, versatile ingredient that will tantalize your taste buds and provide nutrients to support good health. One-half of a Florida grapefruit contains 100 per cent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, so this touch of natural sweetness in your meals will also help support a healthy immune system.
“Florida’s unique fertile soil and lush subtropical climate provide ideal growing conditions for grapefruit to thrive. Growers there have knowledge plus experience – and the lush citrus groves produce the fresh juicy taste that is inside every Florida grapefruit.
Richards reminds us that putting a salad on our menu is a great way to get the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables – and it’s also a good way to experiment with in-season produce.
“Best of all, salads can be salty or sweet, hot or cold, and made with a variety of textures,” she points out. “The recipe for Florida Grapefruit and Jicama Vietnamese Salad, for example, combines flavours from Florida grapefruit, soy sauce and rice vinegar with the crunchy texture of Mexican jicama. It is a spiced up, refreshing salad, that is a great addition to serve alongside your favourite protein or fish. Using in-season produce makes this dish as fresh as it is flavourful.
“More information and additional recipes are available at www.facebook.com/FloridaGrapefruitCA.
Ingredients
- 1 small jicama peeled (about 1 1/4 lb/600 g)
- 3 cups napa cabbage shredded, 750 ml
- 2 Florida ruby red grapefruits peeled and segmented
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 cup English cucumber diced, 250 ml
- 3 tbsp Florida ruby red grapefruit juice 45 ml
- 2 tbsp soy sauce 30 ml
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp liquid honey 30 ml
- 2 tsp sriracha chili sauce 10 ml
Instructions
- Thinly slice jicama and stack slices. Cut into 2 inch (5 cm) matchstick size strips and place in a large bowl. Add cabbage, Florida grapefruit segments, carrot and cucumber.
- In a small bowl, whisk together Florida grapefruit juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, honey and chili sauce. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes before serving for flavours to develop.
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