Zesty Kiwi Salad

Even if you do come home after the main grocery store has pulled down its iron shutters and ordering out is the only option left to you apart from frozen dinner, there probably are enough ingredients in your fridge for a fresh home-cooked salad to make you feel a little better about the situation. Being precisely in this predicament last night, I put together this very light and zesty salad that would go best with meat. Of course, the contents of the fridge will vary from home to home, but the important thing is to keep an open mind when coming up with a recipe. This was the first time I used kiwi in a salad, and an unripe one at that. My boyfriend was appalled by the idea of kiwi in a salad, but when he tried the result, he admitted his mistake. An unripe kiwi is an alternative to lime: it is acidity with a different character. So here it is:

What the fridge had:

3 large fistfuls of spring mix greens
3 large strawberries - for sweetness
1 under-ripe kiwi - for zest
7 marinated piri-piri (small hot peppers, a.k.a. "African Devil") - for spice
3 small sweet white onions - for sharpness
1 small bunch of parsley
1 sprinkle of pine nuts, optional
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
a bit of salt, optional

How to do it:

Cut everything up, but lovingly. Chopping the salad sloppily can often harm flavor. For example, underripe kiwis are tangy and sour, and if you cut them large there will be too much acidity in one bite. Use tiny cubes for the kiwis instead. On the other hand, strawberries are sweet and look beautiful when cut in wedges. Although sweet onion is less overpowering than the regular one, it tastes best when cut into very, very thin half moons. The piri-piri should be chopped so finely that it's hard to locate its bits in the salad. When all is cut, mix it up with oil and balsamic vinegar and add a little bit of salt if it seems necessary to you.

Notes:

This is not a salad to eat by itself, as it has a strong emphasis on acidity and spiciness, which is not balanced by anything else. It will complement meat dishes very well.

I have doubts about the pine nuts in the mix. So try it out, and see for yourself!

Most importantly, may our fridges inspire us to a healthy meal, not depress us into microwavable misery.