Day 139: Chopped Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing

With hints of cinnamon and cumin, the dressing is unusual and delicious! (I'd definitely consider it as a dressing for salad greens too.)

I dressed the salad several hours beforehand. The good news: the flavors and juices did soak in, just as hoped. The bad news: the chopped vegetables also softened up, more than expected. Think about dressing the overall salad just before serving, it just might turn "good" into a "favorite ♥ ".

CHOPPED SALAD with SUN-DRIED TOMATO DRESSING
Hands-on time: 7 minutes for the dressing, 20 minutes for the chopping
Time to table: 30 minutes
Makes 5 cups

DRESSING
1 tablespoon olive oil (reduced from 4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (up from 1 tablespoon, I used a fig vinegar )
1 tablespoon honey
the zest from an orange (made easy with a microplane)
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (preferably fresh and still soft, preferably without oil)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (a defining ingredient, try not to skip)
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (another defining ingredient better not to skip)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of cayenne (also important, for a small spark!)

CHOPPED SALAD
1/2 an English cucumber, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 a small jicama (also called yambean and Mexican potato), peeled, sliced thin and diced
2 oranges, peel and pith (that's the white stuff between the skin and the orange) cut away, sections separated (see ALANNA's TIPS)

Mix the dressing ingredients with the food processor attachment to an immersion blender or in a blender.

Chop the vegetables. Just before serving, stir in the dressing.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Half Cup: 55 Cal (23% from Fat, 7% from Protein, 71% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 11 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 27 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 75 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 1 point

ALANNA's TIPS

• Removing orange sections is sooo tedious. Here are some possible techniques:
  
  >Cut away the peel, then use a knife to cut out the sections. (Frustrating.)
  >Cut the orange in half horizontally. Use a grapefruit knife to remove the sections. (A little better.)
  >Purchase a jar of citrus sections. (Pricey.)
  >Substitute fresh mango. (Hmm. )
  >Purchase a can of mandarin oranges. (The likely choice.)

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Adapted from Gourmet, May 2004