Orange and Avocado Salad with Pickled Shallot and Cucumber
Make the most of the abundance of avocados this season with this simple salad
I am seriously loving the abundant supply of cheap avocados available to us here in Australia. One dollar for a perfect in season avocados? Yes please! Unfortunately I believe this is down to so many cafe's being closed due to lockdown and not needing to purchase avocados for all those smashed avo breakfast we so enjoy. I know this sucks for avocado farmers even if it means super cheap avocado's for the rest of us. So it is your moral duty to help the avocado farmers out and consume as many avocado's as you can!
I am a huge avocado fan, as evidenced by its appearance in so many of my recipes. So if you need inspiration have a browse through Dear Fig – I am sure there will be a recipe that inspires you. Or try this one! This is a super simple salad that is all about the avocado. This recipe required perfectly ripe, yet still firm creamy avocados. If you have slightly squishy avo's that are past their prime, save them for guacamole. There is no where to hide in this recipe!
Like so many other recipes, the idea for this salad was born out what I had on hand. My parents out-of-law had just dropped over a heap of avocados grown on their property and our orange tree had just dropped the last of a late winter crop. Avocado and citrus are pretty much best friends so it was a great place to start. It needed a sour note, so I decided to make a quick cucumber and shallot pickle which worked well, the pickle juice acting as a simple salad dressing. Add some herbs and voila! Super simple, fresh and perfect for the increasing warm nights as we head into summer.
I kept this recipe vegan, but the addition of some Meredith goats cheese or creamy feta would be divine. I am tempted to add Meredith goat's cheese to every single recipe I make, so it took all I have not to include it in this recipe! But go on, you know you want to add it.....
Orange and Avocado Salad with Pickled Shallot and Cucumber
Serves: 2
Dietary guide: This recipe is vegan and gluten free. This salad is not suitable for those on a FODMAP diet due to the high proportion of avocado. If you know you tolerate avocado and want to make this salad, you can replace the shallot with chopped green spring onion in the pickle. Add the spring onion at the same point as the cucumber (once the pickling liquid has cooled).
Ingredients
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds (optional)
60ml whiter wine or champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons of salt flakes
1 tablespoons of sugar
60ml of olive oil
4 baby cucumbers sliced into rounds
2 golden shallots sliced into rounds (as thin as you can)
1 green chilli thinly sliced
2 avocados
2 large oranges
½ a cup of mixed herbs such as chervil, dill, chives, parsley, mint, coriander etc.
80g of creamy goat's cheese (optional)
Method
Dry fry the coriander seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes until they just start to change colour (this helps release their flavour). Add the vinegar, salt, sugar and olive oil and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn of the heat and add the sliced shallots. Stir briefly and let cool to room temperature. Add the sliced cumbers, sir and refrigerate until needed.
To prepare the oranges, cut both the ends (at least 2cm) off each orange. Place an orange end side down on a chopping board and using a sharpe knife slice the peel and white pith off in a curved motion (following the shape of the fruit). You won't get it all off perfectly on the first go, thats okay. Flip the orange over and repeat, cutting off any remaining skin and pith. Repeat this with the other orange. Once the oranges are all nice and nude, slice horizontally into thin rounds.
To assembled the salad peel and cut he avocado into eighths lengthwise. Place the avocado and oranges sliced on a salad plater or or 2 side plates. Arrange the the cucumber and shallots around the avocado and orange and scatter with herbs and green chilli. Drizzle some of the remains pickling liquid over the salad and top with lots of fresh black paper and salt flakes. Serve with lemon if desired.
