Mandarin Salad

Mandarin Orange Salad with Carmelized Almonds

Carmelize* the almonds before you begin making the rest of this salad.  You can carmelize the nuts up to 1 week in advance and store in a container with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator.

Salad Base

  • 1-2 bags romaine lettuce salad mix
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2-4 scallions (green onions) chopped, using green and white parts
  • 1 large can Dole mandarin oranges, drained

Dressing

  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar, (2 Tablespoons for almonds, 1 Tablespoon for dressing)
  • 2 Tablespoons vinegar
  • ¼ cup light olive oil or canola oil
  • ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Caramelized Almond Topping

  • 1/4  Cup almond slivers
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Toss lettuces, celery, cilantro, scallions and orange sections in a large mixing bowl, but not your serving bowl.  This is your salad base. Mix dressing by combining salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar, vinegar, oil and Tabasco sauce.  Shake well in a sealed container or mix in mini food processor.  Pour dressing over salad base and toss to coat salad pieces.  Most of your small pieces will go to the bottom of the bowl.  Pour the dressed salad into a serving salad bowl and the small pieces will be back on top again.  Scatter carmelized almonds over top, allow flavors to blend for 15 minutes, then serve.

*Caramelize almond slivers

Heat 2 tablespoons sugar in a heavy skillet on medium high heat (7 or 8 on a scale of 0-9). Stir and heat until the sugar melts. It feels like a long time before the sugar crystals begin to glisten. From glisten to liquid takes about one minute.

Once the sugar has liquified, ummediately mix in almond slivers. Turn heat to low (2 or 3 on a scale of 0-9) and stir constantly for one minute or 1.5 minutes until all the sugar has collected on the almonds. Remove  skillet from heat and turn almonds onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper to cool. Break clumps into smaller chips after the almonds cool.

Serves 6 if used as a side salad.

Carlyn Foshee Chatfield

(Original recipe submitted by Lois Thomsen in a cookbook given to Ann Chatfield Corbut)