Date Night at Home / Gluten-Free / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy

Valentine’s Sweetheart Salad

I made this salad for Valentine’s Day this year, and it was so delicious and full of purples, pinks, and reds that I just had to share it.  It’s a perfect seasonal recipe also, using produce that’s readily available around this time (grapefruit, avocado, mixed lettuces).

This salad would be perfect for a little date night at home (I’d cut the recipe in half for 2 people — and you’ll have plenty of room for apps and/or dessert), or made to impress someone you’re having over for dinner.

And even though this is quite the fancy-looking affair, this salad comes together in no time flat.  I mean, like 10 minutes.

My kind of dish, for sure.

Valentine's Sweetheart Salad

Valentine’s Sweetheart Salad
because Shrimp and Bleu Cheese Salad with Chicory, Avocado, and Grapefruit with Grapefruit Shallot Vinaigrette was way too long of a name

serves 4

  • 1 bag TJ’s Les Salades du Midi (mix of butter lettuce and radicchio) or one bag/one head butter lettuce
  • 2 heads white and one head red belgian endive, sliced (they come together in a pack at TJ’s)
  • 1 ripe avocado, sliced
  • 1/8 red onion, sliced
  • 2 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
  • 1/2 pound cooked shrimp meat (available at most fish counters)
  • 1 medium to large red grapefruit, segmented, juice reserved*
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper**
  1. Combine lettuces, avocado, onion, shrimp, bleu cheese, and grapefruit segments in a salad bowl.
  2. For the dressing, whisk together reserved grapefruit juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Dress and toss to combine.

*To segment a grapefruit, cut the peel off the top and bottom, making flat surfaces on both sides (no pith should remain). Run your knife down the side of the fruit, removing the remaining peel and pith until you’re left with only the center of the fruit.  Cut segments out, running a paring knife between the segments (you’ll see the faint lines in the fruit), until you’ve segmented the whole grapefruit.  Take what remains of the fruit you just segmented, and squeeze the juice into a bowl for the dressing.  Compost the peel and fruit center (once segmented and juiced).

**Make sure to test your dressing for the appropriate amount of salt — this dressing can taste a little flat if it’s lacking salt because you’re using mostly grapefruit juice rather than a heavy-hitting vinegar in it.