Simple or Elegant

I taught a few classes this summer that turned out to be really enjoyable for me and from the feedback, for everyone who attended.  What I want most for people to see and encounter when attending my classes, is that it can be easy to put together Beautiful and Deliciously Healthy Food!   It is very fun for me to see excitement in peoples faces when they taste something that wakes up their taste buds but at the same time understand that they are really nourishing their bodies, because they are eating fresh, whole food without a box and the accompanying preservatives and chemicals.  And most recipes take less time the “convenient food in the box”. I won’t get started on “fake” food.  Just think of all the goodness there is in your garden or at the farmer’s market or in your CSA box. There are so many wonderful things you can do to get creative with raw foods – greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc. You can enjoy the simple delicious pleasure of a superbly ripe peach, watermelon, or berry each with their own array of antioxidants and vitamins. Or you can take a little time and combine some of the earth’s bounty into a wonderfully refreshing salad that is sure to please! 

Here is a recipe from my Gourmet Summer Supper Class that can be made simply with option one described below or a bit more elegant by following option two. Option two may look like it takes practice or maybe too much time. but when I made it for the first time, layering the avocado only took about ten minutes and it does not need to be perfectly aligned, it just needs to be overlapping slightly. Give it a try, it is stunning both to the eyes and the taste buds.

Stuffed Avocado Salad

Avocado half or roll,  filled with chopped lemon vegetable salad 

• 2 avocados, ripe but not too soft
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 radish
• ½ cup zucchini, small diced
• ¼ cup red pepper, diced
• 3 tablespoon green or sweet onion
• 1 med kohlrabi, small diced
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoon minced basil,
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• Zest of one lemon
• 6 tomato slices crisp dehydrated (optional)
•  Garnish: White balsamic vinegar or coconut aminos.

• Tomato crisps (paper thin tomato slices dried in dehydrator until crispy)

 

 For chopped Salad: Slice off top and bottom of tomatoes, cut outer flesh away from seeds and pulp of tomato, keeping seeds intact. Cut flesh into 1/4 inch cubes; reserve seeds and surrounding gel aside for garnish. Combine tomato cubes with diced kohlrabi, onion, pepper, zucchini, and radish. Add lemon zest, basil and sesame oil.

 Option 1: Cut avocado in half, remove the pit, peel and place on a bed of baby greens. Fill with chopped salad, drizzle with vinegar or coconut aminos.

 Option 2: Lightly oil a sheet of plastic wrap with olive oil. Peel avocados, keeping them whole. With peeler, shave thin slices of avocado, working from the top to the bottom. Carefully place slices on plastic wrap, overlapping slightly to create a sheet of avocado about 4 by 12 inches. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat to make 2 sheets.

 To assemble stuffed avocado rolls:  Place ½ -3/4 cup vegetable mixture across bottom of each avocado sheet. With plastic wrap, roll up like a sushi roll. Remove plastic wrap. Drizzle white balsamic or coconut aminos on each serving plate. Cut each large roll into three pieces.  Place 1 roll per plate. Garnish with tomato seeds and tomato crisps.