Maybe you've read all the celebrity diet tricks in tabloid magazines, but after living in Europe a few years, you might be surprised to know that most Europeans could care less about Hollywood - especially the crazy celebrity diets. I see people eating bread with almost every meal and nibbling on desserts with coffee in the afternoons.
So I was surprised to see 'The Hollywood Salad' on the menu at a charming Swiss restaurant in the quaint old town of Zug, Switzerland. Split-pea colored tablecloths or not, I had to try it!
'The Hollywood Salad' was not only delicious and healthy, it had an ingredient I've never seen before. You can easily create this fun, vibrant and most importantly - tasty salad at home. So what is in this super simple salad?
The salad was a green lettuce mix in the middle with a yummy olive oil dressing. (Major calorie saver in Europe - they rarely use rich, creamy, fattening salad dressings. They don't even have Ranch dressing. Instead it's usually an oil and vinegar mix).
The outside of the salad was an organized pattern of delicious fruit including pears, apples, pineapple, avocado, plums and my new favorite Dragon Fruit. (
pic via)
Official wikipedia definition:
'Pitaya fruit,
pitahaya fruit, commonly known as the
dragon fruit, is a fruit from
Central America and
South America. It is a favorite to many, particularly people of Asian origin. It has a light sweet taste, an intense shape and color, and outstanding flowers. In addition to being tasty and refreshing, this contains a lot of water and other vital minerals with varied nutritional ingredients.
It looks like a dragon.'
Have you ever had Dragonfruit?? It was my first time and the texture is very similar to a kiwi (except it's white with black seeds inside) and the taste is lighter and deliciously sweet.
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Summer may be over, but there are always fruits in season to make your own 'Hollywood Salad.' (written by Dale Janée)