basil |

I moved country. It was about time – after all, I’d reached the 2.5 year limit, which is apparently the longest amount of time that I’m able to stay still for. Not that I’d want to suggest I’ve been very adventurous with my move: I find myself but a 50 minute flight from London in the rainy, grey Hague – a place near and dear to my heart.

The good news is that I’m back working in war crimes, which I’m ecstatic about. The bad news is that I had to leave my photographer behind. Bleurgh. I mean, I’ll see him in 5 days so, you know, I’ll be fine. In the meantime, though, I’m trying to figure out how to do food photography, so bear with me folks.

This is a salad I made up a little while ago and, crucially, one that I figured I could make in the sublet I’m renting just now. (Side note: I can’t find the vegetable peeler. Do you think some people just don’t have vegetable peelers?) The salad’s good on its own but I think it’s probably better as a side – with some tasty, blackened lamb or chicken.

Ingredients

big handful of fresh, washed spinach

1 carrot, grated

1 avocado

1/2 fennel bulb, sliced

10 mint leaves, torn

10 basil leaves, torn

20 blanched hazelnuts (approx)

Dressing

zest of 1/2 orange

juice 1/2 lemon

squeeze of honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp black pepper

pinch salt

Method

Step 1: Get a big bowl and throw in a big handful of spinach.

Step 2: Dice fennel bulb into hazelnut-sized pieces. Add to the bowl.

Step 3: Halve avocados; scoop out flesh and add to the bowl.

Step 4: Peel carrots; grate or peel into ribbons. I grated because…see above. Add to the bowl, along with mint, basil and hazelnuts.

For the dressing

Step 1: Add all ingredients to a jar and give it a good shake. Go easy on the honey — too sweet and it will taste store bought. Tasty, but store bought. Be generous with the pepper. Spice is nice.

Step 2: Toss the dressing in on top of the salad and mix it all up so it gets a nice, zesty, sweet, nutty flavour all the way through. Done.

For my first post ever, I decided to keep it very simple. Calling this a salad feels a little like I’m cheating because, seriously, let’s just take stock here: there are 5 ingredients (4 if you don’t count the olive oil, not pictured here). But, we’ve been eating it pretty much every Saturday morning for the last couple of months, usually with scrambled eggs and toast. So I must be onto something. Very simple, very tasty, and very satisfying.

Ingredients

7 -10 small vine tomatoes

80g stilton

2 small, ripe avocados

10 basil leaves

Olive oil

Method

Step 1: cut your tomatoes in half and arrange at the bottom of your salad bowl. Today, I had small-ish vine tomatoes, but I quite often use mini Roma tomatoes. The important point is that they need to pack a punch. So, as long as they are flavoursome, it doesn’t matter exactly which type you use.

Step 2: slice open your avocados. Using a teaspoon, remove the pits, scoop out the flesh and place on top of the tomatoes. I use a teaspoon because (a) it’s easier to wedge under the avocado pit than a tablespoon and (b) it makes for smaller scoops of avocado which are easier to eat and more in proportion with the tomatoes I use.

Step 3: tear up your basil leaves, roughly, and scatter over the top of your salad. Sometimes I add a handful or two of spinach leaves to this salad to beef it up a bit. This works well if you’re having it on its own for a light lunch or dinner.

Step 4: crumble your cheese over the top, taking care to break it up into relatively small chunks. The key to this salad is to use a good, strong cheese — either a white sheep’s cheese or a blue cheese, like the stilton I used here. The sharpness of the cheese chimes well with the sweet tang of the tomatoes and the soft blandness of the avocado but it’s strong stuff you’re dealing with and you don’t want it to be overpowering – so, try not to overdo it.

Step 5: drizzle with olive oil if you so desire. Do NOT be tempted to mix it all up. I did this exactly once (I can’t really explain why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time). While it still tasted great, it looked pretty vile. So, you have been warned.

So, there you have it: quick and easy avocado salad. Serve with hot buttered toast and scrambled eggs for a delicious brunch, or eat on its own with some spinach thrown in if you feel like a light lunch or dinner.

basil

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