Mmm.... mandarins

This sweet, seedless quick fix fruit can add colour as well as flavour to your salads

Mandarin and Fennel

Salad

6 small mandarins

BY Rajni anand LUTHR a

Buy some more mandarins, my kids have said to me lately, even when there are some still sitting in the fruit basket on the kitchen bench.

We’ve OD-ed on them this season – and why not, they’ve been particularly good this time round.

I bought a box full not so long ago from a door-knocking farmer who said he had driven in from the country to sell direct. My neighbours and I wondered if he was fair dinkum, but we all enjoyed his mandarins immensely.

In my home, we’ve used them for school lunches, after-school snacks eaten on the drive back home, and as an after-dinner TV snack. But for the first time, I’ve tried them in salads.

Essentially, you pick some salad greens, nuts of your choice, maybe one other ingredient, and dress to your taste. Try different greens and different nuts (which you can candy or keep plain).

Mandarins are loaded with vitamin C and offer dietary fibre, too. Plus they provide substantial amounts of vitamin A and folic acid (a B-complex vitamin).

To buy, look for mandarins that have shiny skin and feel heavy when handled.

1 fennel bulb

A good squeeze lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/3 cup fresh continental parsley, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

Trim fennel and cut into thin strips. Add some lemon juice to a bowl of ice-cold water and immerse fennel strips briefly.

Peel mandarins and segment; remove white pith, membrane and seeds.

Whisk the oil and vinegar in a small bowl until well combined. Drain fennel and place in a serving dish. Add the mandarin and herbs. Pour dressing over. Season with salt and pepper and then toss gently to combine.

Mandarin and Spinach Salad

6 small mandarins

1 packet baby spinach

½ small Spanish onion

½ cup walnut pieces

Shaved parmesan, as much or as little as you like

For dressing:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

Juice and zest of one orange

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and segment mandarins. Cut onions into very thin slices. Toast walnut in a moderate oven lightly until aromatic. Wash spinach leaves and remove long stalks if any. Place leaves in a deep bowl and throw in mandarin segments, walnuts, onion and parmesan cheese. Toss gently. Prepare dressing by shaking ingredients together in a small jar. Pour over salad and toss again to coat. Serve decorated with more shaved parmesan.

Mandarin Salad with Avocado

1 packet leafy salad mix

6 small mandarins

1 very ripe avocado

½ cup crushed walnuts or almond slivers

1-2 tbsp orange juice Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut avocado in half, discard stone and scoop flesh into a deep bowl. Mash till very smooth. Add salad greens in now. Tale care to add a few leaves at a time and mix well each time, so that all leaves are coated with avocado. Then introduce the mandarin segments and nuts. Season with salt and pepper, and then pour orange juice over for some moisture. Toss gently to combine.

Mandarin and Chicken Salad

500g chicken breast fillets

6 small mandarins

1 red capsicum

Handful snow pea sprouts

½ cup coriander leaves

3 green onions

5cm piece ginger

Juice of one lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp peanut oil

1/2 cup salted roasted cashew nuts, chopped Poach chicken in large frying pan, covered with enough water. When cooked (say ten minutes after boiling), remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, peel and segment mandarins. Seed and thinly slice capsicum. Cut snowpeas in half. Trim green onions and finely chop. Peel ginger and cut into matchsticks.

When chicken is cool, shred finely.

Combine the chicken, mandarin, capsicum, sprouts, coriander, onions and ginger in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss gently. Prepare dressing by mixing lemon juice and oil in a jug. Drizzle over salad. Decorate with cashews.

Coaching