This Paleo pickled onion avocado salad recipe needs to be on your table this summer. Serve it up for lunch or as a simple side.
What is Pickling?
Pickling extends the life of food by immersing it in vinegar or fermenting it in brine. It can also be done to alter the taste and texture of a food.
Vinegar pickling is used for this recipe, and it’s a quick and easy process to add acidic complexity to tons of different dishes.
Pickled foods are awesome on grilled meats, on Paleo sandwiches, and atop many different kinds of salad.
There are tons of different combinations you can play with. This recipe combines red onions and red wine vinegar.
Some other vegetables you might pickle include carrots, radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower, and bell peppers.
You can experiment with different types of vinegar too. Apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, and white wine vinegar are popular.
Perfect Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are a relatively easy crop to grow, so if you love tomatoes I’d encourage you to give them a try.
They’ll start out light green before transitioning to a bright cherry red. When ripe, they come off the vine easily.
You’ll have the best results if you check them every day during the harvest season. If you leave them too long, they’ll split and expose their seeds and juices, potentially making a mess of your garden.
They’re also a very kid-friendly food, if you happen to have little ones.
On the other hand, if you’re not inclined to garden you shouldn’t ever have trouble getting your hands on cherry tomatoes.
If you want the fresher stuff or you insist on organic, “healthy” grocery stores or farm markets should be able to supply what you want.
Make sure you eat them before they get wrinkly, indicating they are past their prime.
More Refreshing Paleo Salads
Summertime is salad time for many people, so you want to have a ton of recipes at the ready lest you get bored.
A wide variety of foods helps many people to stay on track with their Paleo diet, and even changing up what kind of salad you eat can keep your taste buds happy.
And if your taste buds are satisfied, you’ll be less likely to eat non-Paleo junk.
In a small bowl, add the onions and red wine vinegar. Leave to pickle while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Squeeze lemon juice over the sliced avocado and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Divide the halved cherry tomatoes and lettuce between two plates. Arrange the sliced avocado on top of the salad.
In a small bowl, mix the wholegrain mustard, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Divide the pickled red onions between the two salads and garnish with chopped chives.
Notes
All nutritional data are estimated and based on per serving amounts.