Lentil and Carrot Stew with Avocado-Blood Orange Salad

Apparently I am still on a bean kick, because I made this lentil and carrot stew and to contrast with it, an avocado and blood orange salad (which will be henceforth called the California salad, since I’m sure everything on it would be local…). The result is a sort of Morrocan, sort of Southern-Cali kind of dinner, just the thing to endure yet another cold night.

Lentil and Carrot Stew
The recipe is by Martha Rose Schulman, and can be found here. The only modifications I made was to use ketchup instead of tomato paste and omitting sugar, and substituting 1/2 cup of mint with 1/2 cup of parsley. Otherwise, everything went as written.

Avocado-Blood Orange Salad (adapted from Avocado-Grapefruit Salad)
Note: use lemon if you like your dressing to be more tart, or use agave nectar if you like your dressing a little bit sweet. It’s good either way.

2 blood oranges

1 avocado

small bag of baby lettuce, from Tiny Farms, or a small bag of baby spinach, from Brinkley Farms

2 TB champagne vinegar

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C walnut oil

half of a lemon (optional)

squeeze of agave nectar (optional)

1 shallot, diced (optional)

salt

pepper

handful or so of chopped walnuts

 

1. Using a microplane, zest one blood orange into 2 TB champagne vinegar. Add shallots, if using. Reserve and let macerate for a while. Supreme blood oranges (supreming citrus tutorial here) Juice blood orange pulps into the zest-vinegar mixture. Juice half of a lemon into the mixture. Stir well with a whisk.
2. Wash lettuce and put in bowl. Slice avocadoes. Add olive oil and walnut oil and agave nectar, if using, into the zest-vinegar-juice mixture, whisking well. Add salt and pepper to the dressing to taste. Add some of the dressing (you will have some left over) to the lettuce, mixing well. Put the lettuce on plates, then arrange avocado and blood orange slices on top. Sprinkle chopped walnuts, a dash of salt and pepper, and serve.

Notes: If you have dressing left over, it goes well with a salad of pickled beets, sardines, arugula, blue cheese, and walnuts. Also, you could try the Spinach, Pistachio and Blood Orange salad.