Are you looking for a healthy side dish to complete your meal?
This avocado salad is a real crowd-pleaser that's easy to make
Plus you're going to love the cilantro-lime dressing that brings it all together
I prefer to use Hass avocados they are widely available in most markets,
they have a soft and creamy texture, and they hold their shape well when mixed in the salad
When selecting the fruit there's a few things you can do to check to see if it's ripe
The first is to remove the stem, if it's still intact,
if it's green underneath that means it's ripe if it's brown then it might be overripe
The next thing you can do is place it in the palm of your hand and give it a gentle squeeze,
it should feel firm with just a slight give there should be no mushy soft spots
For this recipe we need about 3 to 4 large avocados these are about 8 to 9 ounces in size
To cut the fruit the first thing is to remove the stem if you haven't already,
place the avocado on the board
Cut it lengthwise until it hits the pit and then just turn until you reach the other side
Twist it to separate it into two halves
To remove the pit you can take the blade of the knife and then just give it a light tap and turn
See how easy it came out
Hold your fingers like this and pinch to remove the pit
We want to cut the flesh into large chunks about 3/4-inch in size
to do that just run the blade down the fruit lengthwise turn and cut into dices
I like to keep the pieces nice and chunky so that they don't break down too much while I'm mixing
Use a spoon and just scoop out the flesh
I'm going to cut the remaining avocados we need 3 cups
Once cut the flesh is prone to oxidation which means it's going to turn from bright green
to brown if exposed to the air for too long
So I'm going to cover the bowl with some plastic wrap or you could use foil
Now I'm going to prepare the other ingredients
To create a colorful and flavorful salad I like to add a variety of mix-ins
to give contrasting tastes and textures
You start by cutting an English cucumber, cut off the ends,
and then because it's really long in size I'll cut it down into about three portions
English cucumbers have a really nice thin skin so we don't have to remove
it and they have really small seeds so you don't have to scoop them out
Slice in half, cut into quarters,
line them up, and slice into 1/4-inch thick pieces, we need 2 cups
Radishes add a really interesting peppery taste and crispiness to the salad
just remove the leaves by trimming it off
They have this long root end so trim that off as well
Cut them in half lengthwise, hold your fingers in the claw again,
and you're gonna make really small cuts into 1/8-inch thick strips, we need 1/2 cup
Cherry tomatoes are going to add a nice sweetness to the salad cut them in half into sized pieces
You can also use Campari or plum tomatoes but for those varieties,
since they're larger I would remove the seeds, we need 2 cups
Red onions are going to add some pungency
Trim off the top and the root end making sure that this portion is intact cut in half lengthwise,
peel off the skin
I want them to be about 1-inch long pieces just cut
down lengthwise then cut into thin 1/8-inch thick strips
I like these smaller pieces because we don't want the onions to be overpowering we need 1/2 cup
Now for a little heat, I have a jalapeno pepper cut off the top, slice in half
lengthwise, now be really careful to not touch the inside of the pepper
I could already smell the heat
The capsaicin or the spicy molecules are in the seeds
and then this membrane in the middle carefully use the tip of the knife to remove
If you like a spicier salad you could definitely keep some of the seeds in but
we'll keep it mild for now
Slice into thin strips, line them up, and chop into fine pieces
You could also use serrano peppers or some red Thai chilies for even a spicier kick,
we need 2 teaspoons
The fruits and vegetables are prepped I'm going to add it to the bowl with the cut avocados
Remove the plastic wrap and I'm going to save this because I'm going to add it on later
Add 2 cups of cucumbers, 2 cups of the sliced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the sliced radish,
1/2 cup of sliced red onion, and 2 teaspoons of chopped jalapeno pepper
Cover the bowl and set it aside
To make the dressing I'm going to prep some fresh ingredients
The limes are going to add this acidity and tartness to the dressing but I always
zest it first, the peel, oh it smells so good already
the peel has these citrus oils that are going to infuse into the dressing so I never leave it out,
we need 1 teaspoon
Cut the lime in half we're going to need two of these
Use your handy juicer and squeeze out the juice this is not
only going to add acidity but it also contains ascorbic acid
which is going to reduce the rate of browning on those avocados
keeping the flesh nice and bright green, we need 1/4 cup
Some cilantro is going to add a nice herbaceous
note to the dressing and it complements the lime really well
This has been washed grab the bunch like this holding the stems
and then just use the blade to cut off the leaves
and then you can just pick off any stems from the leaves if you see any
I know that some people are not a fan of cilantro so you can use parsley or basil instead
Gather the leaves into a pile and use the fanning motion
to rock and chop just run the blade back and forth until you have small fine pieces
We need 2 tablespoons, I like to chop a little extra for garnish as well
Fresh garlic is going to add a little bit of a bite to the salad dressing
trim off the ends of both sides and then smash
This makes it easier to peel just slice to thin pieces
Then use the rocking motion to mince,
chop this up as fine as possible we don't want to have big chunks in your teeth, we need 1 teaspoon
Add 1 teaspoon of lime zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of honey
this is going to add a nice sweetness but you could also use maple syrup if you'd like
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic,
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
We're going to whisk this all together until the sugars are dissolved as well as the seasonings
Having the Dijon mustard and the honey in here now act as light emulsifiers so
it's going to keep the dressing more stable preventing it from separating
I use 1/2 cup of avocado oil because it complements
the fruits and the vegetables really nicely however you could use a light olive oil
The key is to slowly add the oil while constantly whisking we want to
break up the fat into small droplets and this is going to give a nicely thickened emulsion
You don't want to rush this process, if you do
it's going to start to separate and you'll end up with a really greasy dressing
This would also make a really good marinade
for chicken or shrimp this looks good it's time to bring everything together
The last step is to drizzle the salad dressing
over the ingredients toss everything until it's combined
You'll notice that some of the avocados start to break down a little bit
creating a creamy coating but don't over mix we want those nice big chunks still
I recommend serving this right away for the best taste and texture
or you can cover it and store in a refrigerator for up to one day
For the final topping I just add a little bit more cilantro for garnish
If you're an avocado fan and looking for more recipes give my guacamole recipe a try
right here it's a great appetizer to serve with some crunchy tortilla chips
I hope you enjoyed learning the science behind avocado salad
and if you did please give it a big thumbs up it means a lot when you do
See you in the next video
Oh this is going to be good