This avocado and berry salad is so beautiful, and its combination of flavors and textures so multi-layered with tart juicy berries, mild creamy avocado and sweet syrupy vinaigrette – it’s almost embarrassing to admit how easy it is to make. It barely qualifies as a recipe. Just arrange the avocados and berries on a platter, drizzle with a 3-ingredient dressing, and scatter with fresh mint. Done.
The dressing is a variation on my Basic Vinaigrette. Look for a good-quality raspberry vinegar made with real fruit pulp – sweet, thick and syrup-y as opposed to thin, watery and sharply acidic. A vinegar like this will emulsify the dressing and give it enough body that you won’t need to add mustard to thicken it – mustard would add heat which isn’t welcome in this cool salad.
To make this salad into a meal, set out a big bowl of soft lettuce such as Boston or mesclun, lightly dressed with some more of the raspberry vinaigrette, and a plate of sliced cheese and/or meat such as salami, ham, prosciutto, or maybe grilled chicken. Everyone can build their own salad by serving themselves some of the greens, topping them with some of the avocado/berry mixture, and tucking in a few slices of cheese and meat on the side. A basket of warm bread or an assortment of crackers would probably not meet with any objections.
Assemble this salad right before serving, and don’t plan on leftovers, as the avocado will brown and the berries will soften after sitting in the dressing.
Avocado and Berry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) Basic Vinaigrette, raspberry variation, or to taste
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ pint fresh raspberries
- ½ pint fresh blackberries
- Fresh whole mint leaves for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Make the raspberry vinaigrette.
- Step 2 Fan out the avocado slices in sections on a plate or small platter. Scatter the berries over and around the avocado.
- Step 3 Drizzle the avocado and berries with the dressing. Scatter the mint leaves over all.
