Recipe: Avocado-Radish Salad
Last week we were invited over to a friend’s house for dinner and they asked us to bring a salad that would go well with pozole. I love to bring salad to a dinner party, but I also know it can be tricky because most salads taste best immediately after they’re made. And not everybody has the kitchen space or the desire for you to finish cooking while they’re busily getting ready to serve dinner. I’ve learned a few ways to bring delicious salad to a party and be a wonderful guest at the same time:
The first rule-of-thumb is to bring your salad (undressed) in the largest bowl you can find. Ours holds 4 quarts and has a flat plastic top. Once you toss salad greens in a huge bowl, there’s no going back to the cramped space of a too-small bowl. (Bring the dressing in a separate container like a jar.)
Season the undressed salad greens with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. This is a game-changing move that will improve your salads many times over.
Make sure the salad is ready to go—all the ingredients are chopped, rinsed, and thoroughly dry—so that the only thing you have to do is toss in the dressing. There’s one notable exception to this rule: avocado. A brown avocado is a bummer; cut it just before serving for the best-looking salads.
Here’s the recipe for the avocado-radish salad we made for pozole night. It would also be fantastic with tacos, beans and rice, or roasted chicken.
Avocado-Radish Salad
Serves 6
2 avocados
2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 little gems or 1 large romaine heart, chopped
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
¼ small purple cabbage
Juice of 3 limes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
In a food processor, combine ¼ of one of the avocados, the white parts of the sliced scallions, half of the cilantro, and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until finely chopped. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil and continue blending until fully combined.
Place the lettuce, radishes, cabbage, and the green parts of the scallions in a very large bowl. Season with a pinch or two of salt and lots of pepper.
Just before serving, cut the remaining avocado into bite-size pieces and add them to the bowl. Add the dressing and toss gently.
