This salad is an ode to the simple pleasure of sweet fruit dusted with tart Tajín (a mix of salt, dehydrated lime juice, and ground chiles)—a refreshing Mexican street snack. Crisp lettuce and buttery avocados offer additional texture. Mayonnaise in the dressing keeps it creamy and stable, coating the leaves in a thin gloss without dripping away. If your Asian pear isn’t gigantic, fragrant, and wearing a foam jacket to prevent bruising, use a couple of crisp apples instead. Want to make the salad extra pretty? Use a mix of radishes like purple and watermelon.
What you’ll need
Blender
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Salad Spinner
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Microplane
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Large Bowl
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Recipe information
Total Time
15 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
1½
2
¼
¼
¼
½
2
1
6
1
¼
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Blend zest and juice of 2 large limes, 1 serrano chile, halved, 2 garlic cloves, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup vegetable oil, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a blender until smooth and creamy. Taste dressing and season with more salt if needed.
Step 2
Toss 2 heads of Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, 1 large Asian pear, peeled, cut into ½"-thick sticks, 6 small radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced, ½ serrano chile, thinly sliced, and three fourths of dressing in a large bowl to combine.
Step 3
Arrange salad on a platter and tuck 1 ripe avocado, cut into large pieces, and ¼ cup (packed) coarsely chopped cilantro among lettuce leaves; sprinkle very generously with Tajín. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.