Mandarin Orange Salad

A crisp salad of iceberg and Romaine with celery, green onions, mandarin oranges and sugared almonds, tossed with a sweet parsley vinaigrette.

From the recipe book of Sandra Mills, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained cook in our family.

Steak and Seafood title card for Mandarin Orange Salad, photo coming soon
  • Prep 20 min
  • Cook 5 min
  • Chill dressing 1 hr
  • Total 1 hr 25 min

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Sandra Mills's Mandarin Orange Salad is bright and crunchy. Sliced almonds are caramelized in a skillet with a little sugar, then tossed at the last minute with iceberg and Romaine, celery, green onions and mandarin orange segments.

The dressing is a simple sweet vinaigrette of oil, vinegar, sugar and parsley, shaken in a jar and chilled for an hour.

Ingredients

Dressing (makes 1/2 cup)

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon snipped parsley
  • Dash of pepper

Sugared almonds

  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Salad

  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
  • 1/4 head Romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 can of mandarin orange segments, drained

Instructions

  1. Make the dressing. Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar and refrigerate 1 hour.
  2. Sugar the almonds. Cook and stir the almonds and sugar in a small skillet over low heat until the sugar is melted and the nuts are coated. Cool, break apart and set aside.
  3. Prepare the greens. Tear the lettuces into bite-sized pieces in a bowl. Add the celery and onions. Cover and refrigerate.
  4. Toss and serve. Just before serving, add the dressing and toss. Add the oranges and toss. Add the nuts and toss. Serve immediately.

Tips

  • Watch the almonds closely; sugar goes from melted to burnt quickly.
  • Add the oranges and almonds last so they stay whole and crisp.

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