Emerald Salad

Ingredients

• 1 slice oatmeal bread
• Canola oil spray
• 12 Boston lettuce leaves
• 12 pink grapefruit sections (fresh, jarred, or canned)
• 12 thin avocado slices (1/2 medium avocado)
• 2 kiwi fruit, peeled and thinly sliced
• 12 finely-sliced green bell pepper rings
• 1/2 cup grapefruit juice
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1-2 Tbsp. honey, preferably clover
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh mint leaves, or according to taste
• Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make croutons, coat one side of the bread with cooking spray. Sprinkle on the oregano. Bake on a rack in the center of the oven for 3 minutes, until the bread is dry and almost hard in the center. Let it sit 2 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside.
3. On each of four salad plates, make a bed using 3 lettuce leaves. Place 3 grapefruit sections and 3 avocado slices in the center. Arrange kiwi slices in an overlapping ring around them. Place the 3 pepper rings over the grapefruit and avocado.
4. For the dressing, whisk together in a small bowl the grapefruit and lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey and mint. Whisk in the oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Taste, and if too tart, add the remaining honey, as desired.
5. To serve, drizzle dressing over top of each salad. Sprinkle one-fourth of the warm croutons over each and serve.

Recipe Yield: Makes 4 servings. (6 cups salad)