20 mins
Super easy
serves 4
About the recipe
Soft, creamy and crunchy meet sweet and tangy – this avocado salad really does have it all.
Ingredients
1 loaf of ciabatta
2 small avocados, stoned and sliced
1 lemon
½ a cucumber
2 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (I like using mint, flat-leaf parsley and/or chervil), leaves picked
1 punnet of cress, snipped
2 tablespoons mixed seeds (try pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and poppy seeds)
1 blood orange, halved
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
200g/7oz smoked salmon, from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger
Method
- Heat a griddle pan until it is screaming hot – this will take about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the ciabatta in half lengthways, then cut into four equal-sized pieces, about 10–12cm/4–5 inches square.
- Place the sliced avocado in a bowl and squeeze over some lemon juice to stop it from discolouring. Using a speed peeler or potato peeler, slice the cucumber into long, thin strips on top of the avocado. Add the herbs and cress.
- Lightly toast the seeds in a dry pan on a medium to low heat, and place to one side to cool. Squeeze a tablespoon of juice out of the blood orange into a bowl, and add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season it well and give it a mix.
- Griddle your ciabatta squares in the griddle pan, charring both sides. Once they are nicely toasted, drizzle with a little of the dressing and put to one side. Place a square of ciabatta on each of four plates, then top each with a quarter of the smoked salmon.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad and very gently mix with your fingertips. If you feel it needs more dressing, add a little extra, but try not to go overboard – you want it to be very light. Top the smoked salmon with the salad. Finish your delicious starter with a sprinkling of toasted seeds, using half a tablespoon per plate, and garnish with a wedge of blood orange.
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