Italian Guacamole Salad

Ben cleaned up the grill this weekend so we can start using it for the season (bring on da meats.) Tonight’s menu calls for Homemade Brat Burgers, baked beans, and Italian Guacamole Salad!

Have you ever given your guac an Italian twist? It’s so good. I always have one or two lemons on hand – limes for whatever reason, not so much. Anyway, I like to make homemade guacamole for our near-weekly taco night but if I forget to pick up a lime at the store, I’ll sub in lemon. Works so well!

With summer just around the corner, and the weather warming up, I decided to give my lemon-infused guacamole a chunky salad twist, and Italian Guacamole Salad, aka The Most Refreshing Salad EVER, is the result.

Chopped Roma tomatoes and avocado are combined with thinly sliced red onion, a teensy bit of fresh garlic, and plenty of fresh basil, which really drives home that Italian flavor, then drizzled with fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. So simple and SO summery. Plus it takes just 5 minutes to toss together. Pair with any of the aforementioned grilled meats as a simple side dish or heck, spoon it on top! The salt in the recipe draws out some of the moisture in the tomatoes to create a heavenly, sweet and tangy sauce that would easily jazz up everything from grilled salmon to a plain grilled chicken breast.

In a large bowl combine chopped Roma tomatoes (or whatever you have growing in the garden/picked up at the Farmer’s Market!) chopped avocado, sliced red onion, fresh garlic, chopped fresh basil, and plenty of salt and pepper.

Drizzle lemon juice plus a splash of both balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil on top then fold to combine and coat.

Serve immediately or, like I mentioned, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so to let the juices from the tomatoes combine withe the fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Oh my gosh, yum – I can’t wait for dinner! I hope you make this fresh and summery salad all season long – enjoy!

Italian Guacamole Salad

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Description

Italian Guacamole Salad is a fresh, fast, and flavorful side dish. Pair with grilled chicken or fish for a healthy dinner in no time!

Ingredients

serves 4

• 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 large avocado, chopped
• 1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 1 tiny clove garlic, pressed or microplaned
• salt and pepper
• 1 lemon*
• drizzle balsamic vinegar*
• drizzle extra virgin olive oil*

Directions

1. Add tomatoes, avocado, red onion, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil then toss gently to combine. Taste then add more salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice if needed, and then serve.

Notes

* Omit and use your favorite homemade or bottled Italian salad dressing instead.

• This salad gets nice and juicy as the salt draws moisture out of the tomatoes so feel free to prepare up to 30 minutes ahead of time and let sit at room temperature before serving.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.