A healthy and delicious salad finished with an orange cilantro cumin dressing.
Juice the oranges. Reduce the juice in a sauce pan set over medium-high heat. Set aside to cool completely.
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and toast the cumin seeds until fragrant and slightly browned. Once toasted, set aside to cool.
Grind the cumin seeds in a spice or coffee grinder, but not too fine. Transfer the cumin to a food processor. Roughly chop the cilantro. Add the cilantro, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin and orange juice to the blender and blend until smooth. To finish, add the oil and blend for another minute.
Note: Make sure not to add the cilantro while the orange juice is too hot, or it could lose its vibrant green color.
This vinaigrette will make more than enough for 4 people but any leftovers are great. In fact, this vinaigrette is even nice at room temperature and can be served as a sauce over grilled fish or chicken.
To assemble the salad, tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces before washing it. Cut the stems off the watercress and discard any damaged leaves. Wash the lettuce and watercress in cold water. Spin dry and place into a large serving bowl. Set aside.
Peel and dice the mango. Finely chop the mint and dill and add everything to the lettuce.
For the shrimp, check for any bits of shell that may have been missed and add to the salad. Drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette over top. Gently toss and serve.
This light, summery salad is fabulous on its own but accompanies roasted chicken or grilled fish very well.
This fresh citrus dressing is a lovely change from your everyday dressing.
For the shrimp, try to buy fresh, hand-peeled shrimp, rather than machine peeled. Avocados are also really nice in this salad. Just make sure you don’t cut them until you are ready to assemble the salad or they will oxidize and turn brown.