Israeli Chopped Salad With Avocado

This is a good warm-weather salad for when you don’t feel like cooking. If your walnuts are already toasted,* all you have to do to get this salad ready is some quick chopping.

I found this recipe in Mediterranean Fresh, A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings,  by Joyce Goldstein. Crumbled feta would make a nice addition.

Israeli Chopped Salad With Avocado

2 ripe avocados, chopped

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1 1/2 cups diced celery

1 1/2 cups chopped seeded cucumber

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Dressing: Use your favorite citrus vinaigrette, perhaps augmented by cumin. Also nice: an avocado, green goddess or ranch dressing.

Combine ingredients in a salad bowl and toss. Dress and serve at room temperature, as is or on a bed of lettuce.

Four servings.

*Toasted nuts just taste better. It’s worth the effort. I try to keep toasted pecans, walnuts and sliced almonds on hand to throw into salads, yogurt or trail mix and for snacking. To toast nuts, preheat oven to 350. Arrange walnuts/pecans/whole almonds in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once and checking frequently (nuts burn easily). Pine nuts and sliced almonds take less time.