This is one of my favourite summer salads! If you don’t have a dehydrator you can substitute small pieces of tempeh fried in a little oil and tamari for the coconut bacon. I have piped a raw curried hummus into the avocado before topping the salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Special equipment needed: a dehydrator if you are making the coconut bacon and a food processor
The coconut bacon:
- 3 cups of raw ribbon cut coconut
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp. of olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. of tamari
- 1 tsp. lemon
- 1 tsp. himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp. of mesquite powder
- 1/2 tsp. of ground chipotle pepper
Place coconut in a large bowl. Blend together the rest of the ingredients and then mix by hand into the bowl of coconut until it is well coated.
Spread onto a teflex sheet and dehydrate at 117 degrees C. for about 12 hours. Break into pieces and then store in an airtight container
The Devilled Avocado:
- 1 recipe of room temperature Raw Cashew Curry Hummus without the added coconut as it will make it challenging to pipe through a piping bag! (Search Raw Cashew Curry Hummus under appetizers)
- 1/2 pitted, peeled, avocado per person
- smoked paprika to garnish
Prepare the hummus according to the recipe. Set aside at room temperature while you gather the rest of the ingredients.(Keeping the hummus at room temperature will make it easier to pipe)
Peel and core the avocados.
Spoon the cashew hummus into a piping bag with a star tip.
Pipe the hummus into each avocado half and then sprinkle with smoked paprika and a pinch of salt.
The Dressing:
- 1 clove of minced garlic
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. of honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp. himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
- 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
In a medium sized bowl combine the garlic, vinegar, honey or maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk while adding the olive oil.
The Salad:
- Lots of fresh greens of your choice. This salad is traditionally made with romaine lettuce however it is pictured here made with greens from my garden and microgreens grown in my kitchen.
- 1/2 devilled avocado per person
- organic corn shaved from the cob or thawed frozen organic corn
- halved cherry tomatoes
- thinly sliced red onion
- chopped cucumber
- a generous handful of coconut bacon per plate
- 1 recipe of balsamic vinaigrette (Depending on how many you are serving, you will most likely have dressing left over)
The final assembly:
Layer lots of fresh greens on each plate. Place the devilled avocado to the side of the greens and then artfully arrange the corn, halved cherry tomatoes, red onion, chopped cucumber, and coconut bacon on top of the greens. Top with a generous amount of balsamic vinaigrette.