Spicy Pummelo Salad

Pummelo is an unusual Southeast Asian citrus fruit that is available in San Diego in the winter months. It has a very thick skin that ranges in color from pale yellow to dark green. Its flavor is similar to grapefruit, but is sweeter and less bitter, which makes it a great balance for the heat of chiles in this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut*
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 lb. cooked turkey breast (about 2 cups, shredded)
• 3/4 cup canned lite unsweetened coconut cream* or lite unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut) at room temperature, stirred well
• 2 pummelo* or 4 pink grapefruit
• 2 to 4 fresh red Thai or 2 habenero chiles* (to taste, each 1-1/2 to 2 inches), minced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce*
• 6 cups fresh spinach

*Ingredients available at Asian markets, ethnicgrocer.com (866-438-4642), and templeotthai.com (877-811-8773)

Directions:

Sprinkle coconut in 1 layer in a shallow frying pan and toast, stirring constantly, until evenly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. (Watch carefully; edges burn quickly.)

Cut peel, including most of white pith, from pummelo with a sharp knife. (Peel is very thick.) Using your hands, split pummelo from center of one end, like an orange. Pull off interior pith and remove segments 1 at a time, then remove segment membranes and any small seeds, separating pulp. (Fruit may remain in small clumps.) Add pummelo pulp to turkey.

Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, coconut cream, chiles, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then stir into pummelo mixture.

Place spinach on plate and scoop 3/4 cup of pummelo/turkey mixture on top of spinach.

Top with toasted coconut and serve.

Makes about 8 lunch-size servings. Each serving provides about 183 calories, 12g protein, 7g fat (5g sat fat), 21g cholesterol, 22g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 75mg calcium, 487mg sodium, and 794mg potassium.