Orange Almond Salad

Mandarin oranges are out so it must be Christmas. This time of year, we buy a box of these a week and go through them like they're candy. So when I was having my girlfriends over for a festive lunch, I immediately thought of this salad my mom makes because I love the mandarin oranges in it mixed with the crunchy almonds and sweet and sour dressing. It's a crisp, refreshing salad and, one of my favourites.

And while it is Mandarin orange season, you'll notice that I used tinned oranges. This is great because you make this salad any time of year, but the tinned orange segments are peeled which are much nicer in the salad. You'll find them with the canned fruit in your grocery store.

Orange Almond Salad

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large head romaine lettuce
• 11 oz tin drained mandarin orange segments
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Sweet and sour dressing:

• 1/2 cup tarragon wine vinegar
• 1 tsp tarragon leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Directions

• Wash and dry the lettuce and break into bite sized pieces. Add the oranges and almonds and toss.
• To make the dressing: place tarragon leaves, salt, pepper, sugar and dijon mustard into small mixing bowl. Using a wire whisk, beat the vinegar into the spices until thoroughly mixed. Slowly add oil. Continue mixing until the oil is completely blended and the dressing is a light creamy colour. 
• Let the dressing sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavours to blend (overnight is even better). It will separate so needs to be shaken before pouring.
• Place salads on plates and sprinkle with dressing.

**Note, this will make a large quantity of dressing and you'll only use about 1/4 for a whole head of romaine.