Eva Kolenko
“Another Sunset editor and I first tasted this beautiful salad in Paris at the Place Vendôme and thought it was amusing to be served something so Californian,” says Jerry Di Vecchio, Sunset’s long-time food editor. Her 1986 version called for salad oil (the term back then for vegetable oil). We swapped in extra-virgin olive oil, since there are so many West Coast producers now.
This recipe, and others like it, can be found in the article “Now Is the Time to Use Winter Citrus. Here Are Our Favorite Recipes.”
Make dressing: Stir ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning to taste with salt.
Make salad: With a sharp knife, cut peel and outer white membrane from oranges, following curve of fruit. Slice oranges crosswise about 1/2 in. thick.
Cut avocados in half lengthwise, then pit and peel. Set each avocado half pitted-side down and slice lengthwise with cuts 1/2 in. apart. With a wide spatula, carefully transfer avocado halves to a platter (or individual plates) and press down gently to fan slices apart.
Arrange orange slices alongside avocados and top with watercress. Spoon about half of dressing over salad. Sprinkle nuts over salad and serve remaining dressing on the side.
8 servings
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.