A Few Of My Favorite Things
This salad is filled with all the things I love! Creamy Avocado and goat cheese with butter lettuce and topped with a tangy Kumquat Vinaigrette. It’s a refreshing but a little decadent too. I hope you like it too!
Kumquat Vinaigrette, Tart And Sweet On A Salad With Avocado And Goat Cheese
I realize I am very lucky to live in Southern California. When I was just starting to work and lived with roommates, sometimes I could barely scrape enough money together to buy groceries. For some reason, that’s when I discovered avocados. I used to buy a large avocado and eat the whole thing as my meal. I’d just sprinkle with a little salt. Little did I know then that avocados are a “Super Food”. You know, it has the good kind of fat that actually helps reduce the bad cholesterol.
I really don’t remember if guacamole was a thing for me at that time. I just ate avocados. Can you believe that so many years later, I find myself actually living on an avocado grove? That’s right. Where I live now, they’re everywhere. Yes, those gorgeous green gems are just lying around the streets here. I could have saved a lot of money on groceries back then, had I known what I know now!
I also have a kumquat tree. When we were kids, there was a tree in our yard and we called it a kumquat tree. Well, I can tell you, that it definitely was indeed, nothing like a kumquat tree. (I think it was a guava tree, but that’s another story). If you haven’t had a kumquat, they are a small, oval-shaped orange citrus blast! I mean, blast! You can pop ’em in your mouth whole, itty bitty seeds and all. Some like them right off the tree, some like to freeze them and eat them that way. They are very tart and similar in flavor to an orange, only tart, like a lemon. I’ve learned to do a million things with them. For this salad, I’ve used them to make a vinaigrette.
Butter Lettuce Salad With Avocado and Goat Cheese
Butter lettuce is a good choice for this salad, it’s light and soft and has a very mellow flavor. You can use any lettuce you prefer. I love the combination of a very tart dressing with goat cheese and avocado. I also added finely sliced red and yellow bell pepper, chopped purple onion and topped with a few finely sliced fresh kumquats. It’s the balance of tart to creamy, that’s so good.
For the vinaigrette, split about 12 kumquats and remove the largest seeds. Put the fruit into the blender and pulse until completely broken down. You should have at about 1/4 cup or more. Use 1/4 cup for this recipe. To the puree, add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper, 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot, 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (optional) 1 teaspoon dijon mustard and 1/4 cup white wine or champagne vinegar.
Just before serving add fresh avocado and goat cheese, top with a few very thinly sliced kumquats, Wha-La, Enjoy!
Kumquat Vinaigrette on Avocado and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- 10-12 kumquats, halved and seed removed (to equal 1/4 cup puree)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
For the Salad
- 1 head butter lettuce
- 1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1/4 yellow bell pepper sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped purple onion
- 4 ounces fresh goat cheese
- one ripe avocado
- 3 fresh kumquats, sliced thin
Instructions
- For the vinaigrette, split about 12 kumquats and remove the largest seeds. Put the fruit into the blender and pulse until completely broken down. Use 1/4 cup of the kumquat puree. To the puree, add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper, 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot, 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (optional) 1 teaspoon dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar.
For the Salad
- Clean vegetables and lettuce. Tear the lettuce and place into large salad bowl. Add sliced peppers and chopped onion. Cut avocado into squares and remove carefully and add to the salad. Top with sliced kumquats and serve with vinaigrette.
