Watercress, avocado and walnut salad

Taken from "VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking" by Catherine Mason (Pauntley Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-9534879-2-8, price £12.99)
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A salad with some intense flavours for spring time, this has some nice contrasts of texture. It is substantial enough to make a starter or even a light lunch if served with some decent bread.

The salad

• bunch of watercress, washed, trimmed and dried
• ½ a small Iceberg lettuce, the outer leaves discarded, inner leaves torn up
• 10 or 12 ripe cherry tomatoes, washed, dried and halved
• 1 large ripe avocado

The dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oven temperature: 200°C (400°F, gas 6)

Put the watercress, iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes in a salad bowl.

Make the dressing by shaking the ingredients together in a screw-top jar.

Peel and dice the avocado. If it is reluctant to shed its skin the following method may help. Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Lay the avocado half skin-side down on a chopping board and, using a sharp knife, gently score through the flesh in a grid pattern, without cutting through the skin. Now push the skin from behind, turning it inside out, so the chunks separate. They can then be detached quite easily using a spoon.

Add the avocado chunks to the salad, and toss it all together with the oil and vinegar dressing. Scatter the roasted walnuts over the salad and serve immediately.

SERVES 2 AS A STARTER, 4 AS A SIDE SALAD

Recipe copyright © 2001 Catherine Mason | other sample recipes