Bonefish Grill Salad

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For my birthday this year my mom took me out to dinner. What a treat -- just the two of us with no children or husband to interrupt our conversation. ;-)

But besides having uninterrupted time together we also had a wonderful meal. She took me to the Bonefish Grill, which, as you can imagine, specializes in fish. In our area, the Bonefish Grill is a rather quiet and darkened restaurant, conducive to adult conversation. It was a pleasant experience. But even though my mother and I both ordered fish from the menu (and both dishes were very good) what I remember most is the delicious house salad my mom ordered. I actually did not order salad, but I had a few bites of hers, and nibbled some of the blue cheese crumbles from the edge of her plate, and it was delicious. I was still thinking of that salad several weeks later and decided to try my hand at home. It was a wonderful copy, even though I actually did not even use the same salad ingredients. The Bonefish house salad is a plate of greens topped with hearts of palm and tomatoes, and sprinkled generously with kalamata olives and blue cheese crumbles. It's dressed with a light and yummy citrus herb vinaigrette. I did not go hunting for fresh hearts of palm (I can't even imagine I would have found them) but I tossed my greens with some red cabbage, red onion, pumpkin seeds and blue cheese squares, and a version of the Bonefish dressing that was awesome. I would eat this salad any day as it was light and refreshing and would go well with any meal.

My version is below. The dressing is really the only thing that is truly authentic. If you want to copy the salad exactly, see the above content for the ingredients as it is served in the restaurant.

My Own House Salad with Bonefish House Dressing

serves 4

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4 cups mixed greens, washed and cut

1/2 cup finely sliced red cabbage

3 thin slices red onion, quartered

1/4 cup roasted hulled pumpkins seeds (pepitas) -- sliced and roasted or candied almonds, pecans or walnuts would also be good

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (I buy jars of small squares of blue cheese in olive oil and spices -- delicious)

Dressing:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
3 T. water
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. lime juice
2 t. orange juice
2 t. minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Place ingredients in a glass jar (mason style -- or other glass container that has a lid) and cover. Shake jar vigorously for a minute.
Remove lid and heat mixture in microwave on high for about 30-45 seconds (so that sugar will dissolve).Remove from microwave and let cool a minute or two. Replace lid and shake until mixture is well-combined.

Cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl (do not add pepitas or blue cheese until ready to serve). Toss with chilled dressing and serve.

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