Recipe of the week

The dressing on this salad is “so good you might even want to pour it into a bowl and eat it with a spoon,” said Pati Jinich in The New York Times. “Creamy, tangy,” and “addictingly spicy,” it can be used on any green salad, and it might make you a roasted-habanero convert.

Tangy romaine salad with habanero-avocado dressing

1 habanero chile • 1 large ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and diced • 6 tbsp olive oil • ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice •2 tbsp white distilled vinegar • 2 tsp dark brown sugar • 1¼ tsp kosher or sea salt, or more to taste • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 2 heads romaine or 3 to 4 heads baby romaine, washed, dried, and torn into pieces • 3 mini cucumbers, rinsed, ends removed, and sliced • 3 to 4 radishes, rinsed, halved, and thinly sliced • 3 to 4 large oranges, peeled, and cut into supremes or slices • In a preheated comal, skillet, or griddle set over medium heat, toast and char habanero for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping as needed, until skin is charred and flesh completely softened. Remove from heat. Using a fork and knife, halve chile, then remove stem and seeds. • In a blender, add half the roasted chile plus the avocado, olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp water. Puree until completely smooth. Taste for spiciness level and salt and adjust to taste, adding remaining habanero half if desired. • To a large bowl, add lettuce and about ¾ of the cucumbers, radishes, and orange supremes. Toss with about ¾ of the dressing until completely covered. Scatter remaining cucumbers, radishes, and orange supremes on top. Add more dressing as desired. Serves 4 to 6.