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| Preparation for the salad |
For the salad
half an avocado
a large bunch of greens –baby spinach, rocket, red chard & bull blood
a bunch of black olives (with seeds)
For the dressing
2 tbs olive oil,
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tbs dijon mustard
salt
peppercorn to crush
parmesan shavings to garnish
Let’s get started, shall we…
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| chopped avocados |
Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado then chop it up into little pieces. Don’t worry about the size. Some can be bigger than others.. it really doesn’t matter.
In a mortar, place the olives and crush with the pestle until the seeds come out. This helps release some of the olive juice trapped in the olives. You wouldn’t get this is seedless olives, which is why I choose olives with the seeds in them.
Just make sure you have the same amount of seeds when crushed or someone’s going to be chewing on a hard seed and that won’t be funny.Time for the dressing
In a bowl, mix in the olive oil, lemon juice and a bit of the juice from the crushed olives & dijon mustard.
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| olive oil, lemon juice, olive juice & dijon mustard |
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| add the crushed peppercorn and salt |
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| Mix lovingly with a spoon |
Mix in all the ingredients with the the dressing
Now it’s time to plate the food!!!
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| add the parmesan shavings |
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| et voila!!! |
And there you have it… simple and versatile. It can be eaten as an accompaniment to steak, chicken, or it can be a filling for a sandwich.
What I love the most about this is the play with texture and flavour. The avocados and olives are soft but then fused with the greens, you get that lovely crunch. The lemon gives a nice acidity to the dressing and the dijon mustard and peppercorn give that much- needed kick!
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| side salad on a bed of soft boiled eggs on toast |
Hope you enjoy cooking,
bon appétit!
Warmest,
Namir.
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