No longer! Why now, you may ask? Procrastination.
On to the food!
Despite the very moody end of winter we've been having, the occasional warm days have gotten me thinking less about soups and oven-roasted vegetables and more about salads of various kinds. Which leads me to the black-eyed pea and avocado salad I made tonight! These amounts are somewhat approximate, because I made it by eye, it turned out really tasty, and then I thought about writing down the recipe. Keeping the peel on the (washed) cucumber gives it a nice crunch, and the vinegar and lime in the dressing add a nice zest!
Black-Eyed Pea, Avocado and Cucumber Salad.
Serves 4-6 as a main dish, with sides
Preparation time: 15 minutes, if the beans are already cooked.
Ingredients:
1 can black-eyed peas, drained (or 2/3 of a bag of dried beans, cooked, drained and fully cooled)
1 avocado
1 cucumber, washed (or 1/2 to 2/3 of the long, skinny English Cucumbers)
Dressing: (I made this completely by eye and taste, so make sure to taste and adjust!)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar; I used tarragon-infused vinegar for extra tastiness
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 to 1 shallot, diced
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cilantro
Directions:
- Pitt the avocado and chop it into roughly 1/2" pieces.
- Leaving the peel on, slice and dice the cucumber into 1/2" pieces
- Combine the three main ingredients in a big bowl
- In a cup or smaller bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing, whisking until mixed.
- Adjust the dressing to taste, then pour into the big bowl and mix thoroughly
- Serve immediately, or chill until needed.
Enjoy within 3-4 days, or else the avocado starts to look sad. Serves very well as a main protein course, with spinach salad for example, or as a side dish.
