Ensalada de Verdolagas

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Verdolaga is one of the many green leafy vegetables consumed in Mexico. These wild growing tender edible greens are know as Quelites. Quilitl is the Nauhtl word for edible plant and there are hundreds of them botanically identified and known to be part of the pre-hispanic diet.

Visit any open market in Mexico City and you will find quelites named chaya, quintonil, romeritos, pápalo, huazontle, berros and many others. Two important seeds derived from quelite plants are chia and amaranto. The later two and maize were the three most important food staple of the Mechica (Azteca) diet. The ancient civilizations of Mexico knew the nutritious and medicinal value of each quelite. They were the vegetables that created a balanced diet with carbohydrates (maize, chia, amaranto).

This salad recipe comes from Yuri de Gortari y Edmundo Escamilla, Mexican chef, food-historians and educators of traditional Mexican cuisine. Visit Escuela de Gastronomia Mexicana and see their food videos of Cocina Identidad.

Let’s get started…

Ingredients

3 cups torn red leaf lettuce

2 cups verdolaga, lower stems and roots removed

1 large red grapefruit segments separated

2 medium oranges segments separated

2 tablespoons chia seeds or popped amaranth

Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Create a base of red leaf lettuce, place a mound of verdolagas in the center of the lettuce. Arrange grapefruit and orange fruit segments radiating from the center out in an alternate fashion. Drizzle vinaigrette on the greens and sprinkle amaranth or chia seeds uniformly.

Note:

Yuri’s salad recipe is sprinkled with chia. I substituted amaranth because that’s what was in my pantry. Some larger Mexican supermarkets sell verdolagas.

Buen Provecho.

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