When I was pregnant I craved Mexican food. Seriously, anything with beans or avocado (or cheese) was something I would eat. Of course now, no longer pregnant, I still love good Mexican food, but it’s not quite the same love. Avocado, however, will always be one of those foods that I crave. They may even make it to my top five favorite foods list (you know, that list of your five foods you’d bring to a deserted island).
Avocado is great on its own, but topped with a good vinaigrette and surrounded by pine nuts and tomatoes? Even better. Actually, avocado is the “new miracle food”, in case you didn’t know (side note: I hate it when articles or any headlines call foods “miracle foods”. So Dr. Oz).
Avocado Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Author: Adapted from the Lemonade Cookbook
Serves: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks **
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or grape), halved crosswise
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Juice of 2 to 3 limes
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced **
- 1 tsp. coarse salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well (trying not to mush the avocados!).
- In a blender make the vinaigrette; mix the lime juice, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend on medium speed for a few seconds, and then reduce the speed to low. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Pour into container or a jar and mix in the cilantro.
- Pour about ¼th cup of the vinaigrette onto the avocado and tomato salad, keeping the rest refrigerated for another day (it’s tasty on fish, FYII!). Toss gently and add more salt and pepper if you want. Serve chilled.
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet keep in mind that avocados aren’t low FODMAPs. They may be safe if you stick to ¼th avocado or less (specifically for those who are sensitive to polyols) but this salad will provide more than that amount. Also garlic should be omitted and replaced with a garlic or Tuscan olive oil (instead of plain olive oil) if you are sensitive to fructans.
Paige also enjoyed this masterpiece of a salad. I gave some to her without the small pine nuts, and as she typically does with avocado, she took it to the face!
See you next week with a simple roasted red pepper sauce for fish and other proteins. It’s a great sauce for low FODMAPers and gluten free’ers (yes, that’s a term, right??).
