Makes 4 to 6 servings
For just about all of May and June, when I’ve got local strawberries in the house, those that I don’t eat straight from the basket go into desserts (try Eton Mess); get pickled, panzanella’d or jumbled on top of ice cream. Or they become part of this surprising salad.
The salad’s three star players are avocado, Ruby Red grapefruit and strawberries. The avocados and berries are sliced. The grapefruit is cut into segments, and the membranes that once held them together are squeezed for juice to use in the vinaigrette. Finish the salad with a mix of jalapeño, pink peppercorns, cilantro, basil and a few squeezes of lime juice, and you’ve got something that’s as beautiful as it is tasty.
Working Ahead
You can make the vinaigrette and cut the grapefruit, strawberries and jalapeño a few hours ahead, but the avocado should be cut and the salad assembled (a matter of minutes) and dressed right before you’re ready to serve it.
For the grapefruit, you want to remove the fruit in sections and save the juice. You can do this either by cutting away all the peel and slicing the fruit between the membranes, so you get suprêmes (see sidebar), then squeezing the juice from the membranes; or by slicing the unpeeled fruit crosswise in half, cutting out the sections (if you have a grapefruit knife or spoon, use it) and squeezing the shells for the juice. Whichever method you use, squeeze the juice into a small bowl and reserve the fruit.
Squeeze 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 large lime or 2 smaller ones). Put 1½ tablespoons of the grapefruit juice and the lime juice in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add the sugar, a big pinch of salt, some black pepper and the oil and shake vigorously to blend. Taste to see if you want to adjust the seasonings, and set aside.
Slice the strawberries — thin, thick or in half, depending on their size and your preference. (You can make the salad up to this point a few hours ahead; refrigerate the grapefruit and berries and keep the vinaigrette at room temperature.)
When you’re ready to serve, cut the remaining lime in half. Working with one avocado at a time, slice each one in half from top to bottom, remove the pit and cut each half into long, slender slices — you’ll get 6 to 8 slices from each half. Lay the slices out on a platter and immediately sprinkle with lime juice. Season with salt and immediately sprinkle with lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the grapefruit and strawberries, followed by the jalapeño, pink peppercorns — pinch them between your fingertips to crack them — a few grinds of black pepper and another squeeze or two of lime juice. Shake the vinaigrette to blend again and drizzle it over the salad — you don’t want to drown it, so you might not need all of the vinaigrette. Finish with cilantro, basil and a sprinkle of salt.
Storing: If you have leftovers, toss them with spinach leaves — the combo’s really good.