Olives and Grapefruit? Lemon Juice and Grapes? Oh Yes! These are the luscious and exotic flavors of this salad, inspired by the bright and delicious food of Africa.

We don’t often think of seasoning foods with opposing tastes, but this salad proves it’s a wonderful strategy when you are looking to create zest in a almost any dish. Even though the ingredients seem wildly dissimilar – when added in the correct proportions, they make the salad zing!

The olives we are using in this recipe may be a challenge for some of you to find, but they are worth it! Since we live and work in Atlanta, we can find a jar of oil cured olives in the regular grocery store. You may have to look at Whole Foods, Trader Joes or Fresh Market, or a store similar to buy them. Intensely flavored, wrinkled and slick with a coating of oil, they allow us to use fewer olives, but have a powerful, yummy olive taste in our salad.

One of the most important components of the salad is the smoky, slightly citrus taste of the cumin. It is extremely good for digestion. And did you know that cumin can help blood sugars stay in control for diabetics? There are been specific studies on the spice and people with diabetes which is amazing to think spices can complement today’s medical recommendations. Finally, cumin has a high amount of iron and magnesium in the spice. 1 Tablespoon provides 20% of your daily iron needs.

Safari Salad

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TB Lemon Juice

½ Tsp Hot Sauce

1/2 Tsp Cumin

½ Tsp Smoked Paprika

1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper  to taste

6 – 8 Cups Soft Greens

4 Cups Mixed Fruit – Grapefruit, Oranges and Grapes

1/2 Small Red Onion, sliced very thinly and submerged in ice water and drained

(Allowing onions to sit in  ice water for about 30 minutes takes the “sting” out)

2 TB Each Chopped Parsley and Mint

1/4 Cup, Oil Cured Black Olives, coarsely chopped

1 Cup Crumbled Goat Cheese

½ Cup Toasted Slivered Almonds

Step One In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the first six ingredients to create the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside while you make the salad.

Step Two Place the fruit on top of the greens on 6 plates and top with the onion, parsley and mint, olives and goat cheese. Drizzle the dressing on top and garnish with the toasted almonds.