Improvising for dinner again, I needed a kid-friendly salad to accompany the chicken tacos they wanted. I went for a southwestern citronette, happy for a chance to play with the ingredients for one of my favorite salads.

I pulled a heart of romaine and some arugula out of the fridge, and grabbed a yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, a cucumber, cilantro, scallions, and of course some citrus fruits. Impressed by the beautiful colors, I snapped a picture and got to work.

Ingredients:

(Side salad, serves 4-6.)

1 heart of romaine.

2-4 cups of arugula.

1 fistful of cilantro.

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced.

1 avocado, quartered lengthwise and sliced.

5 mushrooms, quartered.

1/4 english cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced.

3 scallions, sliced.

1 navel orange, skin sliced off, quartered and sliced.

Zest of one navel orange.

Zest of one lemon.

Southwestern Citronette:

(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)

3 T extra virgin olive oil.

1 T lemon juice.

1 tsp maple syrup.

1 garlic clove, smashed and minced.

1/4 tsp cumin.

1/4 tsp smoked paprika.

Pinch of salt, to taste.

While the chicken for the tacos cooked, and my husband crisped the corn tortillas, I created a gorgeous bed of salad greens and zested the citrus fruit over the top. Then I juiced the lemon and prepared my citronette in a small jar. I doubled the maple syrup this time (from my typical half of a teaspoon for this type of salad to a full teaspoon). I’m not sure why I did that — in part to appeal to the kids, but it also just tasted right to have a sweeter dressing with the spicy arugula.

With the citronette made and mellowing, I started chopping and adding vegetables to my bowl. I saved the avocado and the navel orange for last so that the avocado would be lusciously green and the citrus juice wouldn’t wilt the lettuce.

The Verdict:

The salad was delicious. It worked really well with the tacos, and was devoured by everyone at the table. Complete success!

Make it a Meal:

Easy enough — add pinto beans, black beans, leftover chicken, steak, carnitas, or shrimp, and then sprinkle some corn chips over it for extra crouton-style crunch.

Pack it to Go:

Avocado and orange need to be packed in a jar with the salad dressing. The rest of the salad is fine in a nice large glass or stainless steel container with a good rubber lid. Nestle the jar in the salad container and store it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat, simply shake the dressing and pour it over the salad. Use only what you need (use a fork to pull the yummy fruit out of the jar without getting more citronette than you want). Fork toss your salad, or put the lid back on the salad container and give it a few good shakes to combine. Enjoy!