Avocado Salad with Feta, Olives and Vegetables
Today I made an avocado salad. It's become a tradition: as soon as our bitter winter gives way to the first sunny days, the female half of the population “suddenly” remembers about their figure, the sea, the beach, and that washing down candy with borscht is not a great idea.
The most popular diet around here is the Mediterranean one. Strictly speaking, it isn't even a diet, more a style and culture of eating. It's considered typical of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. I suppose so. But I like it too, for one, even though they're a thousand miles away from me. The diet is heavy on grains, vegetables and nuts, with quite a lot of olive oil. Paradoxically, the dishes contain plenty of olive oil: a squid salad, for example, gets a generous dressing.
From a “slimming” point of view, vitamin-packed salads are of special interest. By the way, my favorite salad is Greek salad. A wonderful combination of fresh vegetables, herbs, olives and olive oil. Sadly, around here it's made however people see fit, often without the right ingredients, swapping feta for brynza or even ordinary hard cheese. And in Greece itself it's often made in local ways, with regional flourishes, so to speak. Though I have to admit it's almost always very tasty. Take our Mimosa salad: everyone makes it their own way, and it's always delicious.
Step away from the canon of Greek salad and play with it, and you may well end up with a new dish. Only in Greece is it called “horiatiki”, χωριάτικη σαλάτα. Across nearly all of the Balkans and the rest of the world, it's Greek salad.
I once got to try an interesting take on Greek salad. Along with the usual vegetables, it had lettuce and avocado. It turned out unexpectedly tasty, very much so. Notably, the menu listed it as “avocado salad”.
Avocado salad recipes are very common; you can find one to suit your taste. An amazing salad with red caviar and a salad with sun-dried tomatoes are both made with avocado. Today we made an avocado salad with cucumber, tomato and plenty more.
The avocado comes from the New World and is a very ancient crop. Although its leaves and pit contain harmful substances, the flesh of the fruit is very tender and tasty. The flavor faintly resembles fresh unsalted butter with herbs, with (barely noticeable) hints of garlic and nuts. Avocado is a key ingredient in guacamole, which I love. I remember that when I first saw an avocado, I refused to even try the green pear. Actually, avocado is one of the best anti-aging “fighters”: it contains vitamin E, plant fats, potassium and powerful natural antioxidants. So an avocado salad is tasty, healthy and keeps you young.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Avocado 1
- Red onion 1
- Lettuce 1 bunch
- Tomatoes 2
- Cucumber 1
- Red bell pepper 1
- Black olives (pitted) 15-20
- Feta 100 g
- Parsley 2-3 sprigs
- Olive oil 50 ml
- Seasonings: dried oregano, lemon juice to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- You can use any lettuce or salad leaves for this dish. There's great leaf lettuce, or head lettuce; pick whatever you like. Lettuce is delicate and wilts quickly, so it's worth soaking it in cold water for a few hours first; the leaves will turn crisp.
- Before you start, shake off the water; you can even pat the drops dry with a paper towel. It's better not to cut the leaves with a knife, so the juice doesn't run out. Do what most cooks do and tear the leaves into pieces by hand. Put the torn leaves into a large, deep bowl.
- Avocados are usually sold by the piece, not by weight. One fruit is enough for two: a nice green pear-shaped one. An avocado has a large pit, bigger than a walnut. Cut the fruit down to the pit with a knife and split it into two halves. Remove the pit. You could throw it away, of course, but why not plant it in soil? It grows into a pretty little tree. I often have fun doing that. Too bad it can't survive our frosts.
- Peel the thick green skin off the avocado halves; it comes off easily. Cut the flesh into small cubes, a little larger than the potatoes in an Olivier salad. Sprinkle the diced avocado with 1 tsp lemon juice and toss. The acidic juice keeps the flesh from browning and oxidizing. It also gives the salad a distinctive flavor.
- Seed and stem the red bell pepper, and slice it crosswise into very thin strips. Add to the salad bowl.
- Drain all the liquid from the bowl where the avocado was tossed with lemon. Add the avocado to the salad bowl. Add the whole pitted black olives right away.
- Without seeding or peeling, cut the tomato into large wedges. Add to the rest of the ingredients.
- Peel the red (purple) onion and slice it into thin rings. An elongated onion works best. Slice it very thin. By the way, since many people don't like raw onion in their food, how much you use, or whether you use it at all, is strictly up to you.
- At the very end, add a diced fresh cucumber, or two. To make the cucumber nice and crunchy, soak it in cold water together with the lettuce. No need to peel it, though if it's a little bitter, you'd better peel it.
- Add the diced feta. Feta (Φέτα) is a traditional cheese made from sheep's milk with some goat's milk added, Greece's calling card. It's a bit like brynza, but softer and more delicate. Sprinkle the salad with 1-2 pinches of dried oregano and finely chopped parsley (leaves only).
- Toss the ingredients very gently. Not vigorously, but slowly. Just turn them over, trying not to damage the delicate ingredients.
- Right before serving, drizzle the salad with olive oil, the very best you can find.
- Avocado salad goes wonderfully with almost any meat or fish dish. And as an appetizer, it's superb!
- I highly recommend this avocado salad. Surprisingly, it strikes a great balance of ingredients, calories and “lightness”.
| Serves: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 80 |
| Prep: | 20 mins |
| Cook: | 10 mins |
| Total: | 30 mins |
| Category: | Salads |
| Cuisine: | Italian cuisine |
| Rating: |
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4.3
(11)
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