Pomelo Herb Salad with Sweet Spicy Coconut Chips

Pomelo, Blood orange, Mint and Basil are perfumed with orange blossom then mixed with Sweet & Spicy Coconut Chips and pickled jalapeño & scallions! Everything is tossed in a Toasted cumin, Chile de Árbol & lime dressing. Feel free to substitute with seasonal citrus and give it a go!

Ingredients (serves 2-4 as a side)

Coconut Chips
35g Unsweetened Coconut Flakes - I love the ones from Trader Joe’s (substitute with flaked almond slivers or peanuts)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt (if you can get hands on Maldon then it would be the best!)
1/4-1/2 tsp ground Chile de Árbol (adjust based on spice tolerance) ; substitute with Gochugaru
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Maple Syrup

Pickled Stuff
1 Scallion, whites halved length wise cut into 1” pieces and greens thinly sliced at an angle
1/2 Jalapeño, thinly sliced into rounds
Pinch of Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp Lime Juice

1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/4 tsp Chile de Árbol flakes
1/2 tsp Raw Brown Sugar Crystals or Demerara Sugar
1.5 tsp Orange Blossom Water (reduce to 1 tsp if you find the perfume too strong)
1.5 tbsp Avocado Oil
350g Pomelo, pulp (you could substitute with good quality Ruby Grapefruit or Navel Orange but it’s not the same)
25g Blood Orange, pulp
4 sprigs of Basil, tough stem removed and leaves separated
4 sprigs of Mint, tough stem removed & leaves separated
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Roasted Sesame seeds or Peanuts for garnish

Directions
🥗 Prep Coconut Chips - Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C. Combine all ingredients and make sure the coconut flakes are very well coated. Spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet & bake for 5 mins. Let them cool completely

🥗 Prep Pickled Stuff - Combine all ingredients and let them pickle for 20-30 mins (do this while peeling Pomelo)

🥗 Prep Spices - dry roast cumin, chile de Árbol and sugar for 2 mins then roughly crush them into a coarse powder

🥗 Make the Salad - Combine Pomelo, Blood orange pulps with 3/4 qty of herbs, orange blossom and 1 tbsp oil with 1/4 tsp sea salt in a medium bowl. Transfer the pickled stuff into the bowl, while reserving the lime juice. Now whisk the coarse spice powder with reserved lime juice and 1/2 tbsp oil until well combined. Add this spiced dressing to bowl and mix everything

🥗 Serve - transfer the salad to a lipped platter, scatter a handful coconut chips on top , finish with some sesame seeds or peanuts and remaining sea salt. Serve right away.

*Note: the coconut chips will get soggy if left with the dressing for long. So do not mix them from the beginning. Serve the chips on the side so that you can top it on demand!