This mild, but springy, version of the Italian salad is great with avocado slices, but you could substitute whole, ripe tomatoes with a squeeze of lemon juice and plenty of fresh garlic. This salad is primarily composed of the bitter sweet avocado, a squashlike vegetable, and the outer greens of the tender raw chicory. But you could substitute halved butternut squash, (for its even tarter, pickier flavour), but walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or walnut seeds would also be great.
To build this salad, chop the artichokes first, then steam them until almost tender. Puree their liquid with the bell pepper and add to the chopped shallots. If you wish, you could mix the shallots and artichokes with spring onions, shredded strips of roasted red pepper, and sliced pine nuts, or use crumbled feta cheese, herbed yoghurt, and toasted walnuts.
To add an extra body to the salad, grind some flat-leaf parsley, tarragon, or sage leaves in a mortar and pestle; once they’re coarsely chopped, stir in a squeeze of lemon juice or olive oil, a few cracked peppercorns, and salt and pepper.
Sea salt is no good for cooking vegetables, so if you wish, you could add a bit of your favourite kind of citrus — lemon, lime, orange, lemon zest, orange juice — to the salad. Or, if you like, top the salad with pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts, which can add nutty flavor, also slightly harder than the hazelnuts you usually use for this salad.
AVOCADO AND PEACH SALAD
This recipe makes a big salad, and is ideal for people who have a busy morning and want to have something to enjoy before it’s too late for a lighter lunch. The combination of peaches and avocado actually took a long time to plan and perfect, so it was worth every minute. But you can also just, say, add three ripe slices of avocado and no peaches to the salad, and taste it right away.
Ingredients
- 1 small ripe peach, halved
- 4 large or 6 medium-sized avocados
A good slug of fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground sea salt
Peel and pit the peaches, and slice the flesh into thin slices (about the same size as the avocado) lengthwise. Core the avocado, removing the pit so that the fruit slices are thin and just starting to soften. Slice the avocado lengthwise so that it’s even with the peach slices.
To make the vinaigrette, finely chop the stems and seeds of the artichokes, and pour them into a small bowl. Add the reserved juices from the artichokes to the vinaigrette and gently mix. Stir in half the diced walnuts, the chopped parsley, tarragon, and sage.
To serve, cover a serving bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 90 seconds or until warm. Serve the salad warm or cold with crusty French bread.
Make an additional dressing by placing all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped flat-leaf parsley, in a bowl and whisking vigorously. Add the chopped parsley. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you need it, about an hour. Use as the base for this salad or on a scooped avocado.
Vinaigrette with Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large or 3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
½ cup light olive oil
½ teaspoon minced garlic
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the tomatoes and oil into a roasting dish. Season with salt and pepper, and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with the salad.
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