Miami Salad Recipes

CONCH SALAD

Steps:

• Tenderize conch with a meat mallet. Dice into bite-sized chunks. Soak conch in 1 cup lemon juice for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
• Drain off lemon juice and place conch in a bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, green pepper, cucumber, seasoning blend, and seasoned salt; mix thoroughly.
• Transfer conch mixture to a container. Add remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, tomato juice, and lime juice; mix well. Stir in vinegar and hot sauce. Refrigerate until flavors combine, about 1 hour. Serve cold.

FLORIDA AMBROSIA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Pierce the softest eye of the coconut with a metal skewer or small screwdriver and drain any liquid into a small bowl to sample-you should have about 1/2 cup liquid. (If the liquid tastes sweet, the coconut is fresh; if it tastes oily, the coconut is rancid and should be discarded.)
• Bake the coconut for 15 minutes then transfer to a folded towel on a work surface. Using the back of a knife or a cleaver, crack the shell open. Break the shell into large pieces and use a strong knife to carefully remove the flesh from the shell. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the brown skin then shave the coconut into thin strips-you should have about 4 cups shaved coconut. Reserve 2 cups for the ambrosia salad; wrap and freeze the remainder for another use. DO AHEAD: Coconut shavings can stored, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator up to 1 week or frozen up to 3 months.
• Using a serrated knife, cut the peel off the grapefruits and oranges. Cut the fruit crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds then cut the rounds into bite-size pieces. Transfer to a large bowl; add the pineapple, kumquats, pomegranate seeds, 2 cups coconut shavings, 1/2 cup coconut juice, and the apple juice, and toss gently to combine. Serve at room temperature or chilled. DO AHEAD: Florida Ambrosia Salad can be prepared ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to 8 hours.