Grapefruit & Avocado Salad w/ Almonds and Dill

I just came back from a fabulous eating weekend in Philadelphia.

Philly is an amazing food destination, and one of our favorite cities.

We hit all the hot spots....Pizzeria Vetri; Wm. Mulherin in Fishtown; The Love; Abe Fisher and Reading Terminal Market for the best pork and rabe sandwiches.

We visited the Barnes Museum and the Franklin Institute for wonderful art.

The blocks are short and the people are nice, so it makes it a super easy and safe city to walk everywhere.

We had a memorable dinner at Abe Fisher (same group owns Zahav and Federal Donuts)....and Chef Yehuda Sichel was kind enough to give me the recipe for the delicious palate cleansing avocado and grapefruit salad we enjoyed with our 10 course meal!

What makes the salad even more delicious is using almond oil instead of olive oil. I love nut oils in salads. La Tourangelle makes good quality oils that are easily found in most supermarkets and online here.

A note of advice: I keep my nut oils in the fridge, as they go rancid much quicker than other oils.

Avocado & Citrus Salad with Almonds: (recipe courtesy of Yehuda Sichel)

2 ripe avocados, cut into large pieces
sea salt
1 pink grapefruit, cut into pieces
1 cara cara orange, cut into pieces
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted in a dry skillet
some fresh dill for garnish
almond oil
lemon juice
pumpernickel bread, cut into big cubes
butter for frying the croutons

Start by making the croutons. In a skillet, heat a few tbsp of butter on medium heat.

Add the bread cubes and keep tossing until crispy on the outside. You can also make these in the toaster oven, coated with olive oil, but I find frying the bread cubes in butter makes them much better! Set croutons aside.

Gently mix all the ingredients together....season with sea salt.

Squeeze some lemon juice and a drizzle or two of almond oil over the salad.

This is my new favorite salad!