Avocado Salad Recipe

Growing up Cuban meant we didn't eat many salads. And by "many," I mean, "none."

For the most part, the only time green things appeared on our plates were the tiny, diced pieces of bell pepper in our sofrito. (For the uninformed, sofrito is at the beginning of most Cuban dishes. Sauteed onion, garlic, and green bell pepper form the basis of the magic that is Cuban food, but that's not important right now.)

We add asparagus to our Arroz con Pollo and I think that pretty much ends our venture into "green" territory.

The exception being that on special occasions, we were treated to An Avocado Salad. *insert heavenly choir here*

Having grown up here in California makes me partial to the beautiful dark-skinnedAvocados from Mexico (as opposed to the big, fat, smooth ones from South Florida). Don't judge me. I also make a pretty mean guacamole.

Today, Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year. Which means that we get avocados here pretty much year-round. (Thank you, God.)

But every now and then I want my Avocados from Mexico to taste, well, Cuban. And this is my go-to salad. Don't you love it when I share?

Buen Provecho!

Avocado-salad

CUBAN-STYLE AVOCADO SALAD RECIPE

• 2 ripe avocados, sliced
• 1/2 large sweet red onion, sliced into rings
• Sea salt
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 3 limes (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 packet of Sazón Goya Complete
• Salt & pepper to taste

1) Blanch the bell pepper by putting in a small bowl and microwaving on high for about 40 seconds. Let cool.

2) For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, Sazón Goya Complete and the cooled red bell pepper.

Avocado-salad-dressing

3) Arrange red onions on a plate, top with sliced avocados.

4) Salt the avocados.

Salted-avocados

5) Pour dressing over everything.

6) Top with fresh cilantro.

Cuban Style Avocado Salad

It totally feels like a special occasion, doesn't it?

How to Grill an Avocado - A Simple Recipe

{Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Avocados from Mexico. The recipe is my own.}

Now that it's summer and we are eating outdoors practically every evening (on my beautiful farmhouse table, people), I'm all about grilling. Which technically means that I do most of the meal prep and toss the salad and let Eric do the heavy lifting (but that's not important right now).

He's the Master of the Grill around here. And I'm happy to let him have the honors. I still do the shopping and decide the menu, but he stands over the grill with his tongs, Master of All Things BBQ.

When we're cooking pretty much anything on the grill (and again, when I say we, I mean Eric), we keep it pretty simple. A basic Cuban garlic marinade. A quick rub. You get the idea.

But now here comes the magical part? Did you know you can grill avocados? (I'll wait just a moment while that bit of awesome sinks in.)

That's right. Avocados on the grill. And I'm going to show you how. (And you will love me.)

How to Grill an Avocado - A Simple Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe avocados
• olive oil
• sea salt
• fresh limes

1) Split the avocado, remove the pit, and brush generously with olive oil.

2) Place on a medium hot BBQ grill, cut side down for about 2 or 3 minutes. The dark skin will start to look oily and the avocado flesh will look a little charred and bumpy.

3) Squeeze some fresh lime on them and sprinkle with sea salt. Now that they're grilled, they will also keep beautifully in the refrigerator overnight. (Who knew?)

They can be filled with pretty much anything you like, but I prefer mine plain with lime, salt, and a little of my Old School Cuban Salad Dressing.

Old School Cuban Salad Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. oregano

1) Whisk together all the ingredients until well blended. Serve at room temperature. (Note: The ratio of olive oil to vinegar is roughly 3 to 1.)

I love avocados, don't you? If you have a favorite avocado recipe, please submit your creation to the Avocados from Mexico page here.

De aqui p'al cielo!

Avocado Cocktail Recipe

Nochebuena preparations are in full swing around here.

The pig is happily marinating in the Mojo Criollo I told you about a few days ago. The Matervas are chilling in the fridge. Lucy is out in the world on a hunt for Turrones.

Every time the phone rings or there is a text, it is Christmas related.

My sister, Helen, calls: "We need an appetizer."

We have tons of food for Nochebuena. Need is a relative word here. But I know better than to argue with my big sister. She's Cuban. And she's helping with the food. Enough said.

My mom calls: "We need a green salad." What she means by that, is a salad with just lettuce, asparagus, and avocado. She doesn't usually eat salad. She just wants an excuse to have avocados.

Cubans love avocados. My sister wants appetizers. My mom wants her avocado. (This is a winning scenario for me.)

Enter: Avocados from Mexico. Thankyouverymuch.

I've got this.

I'm making Avocado Cocktails for my appetizers. And I'm already anticipating the ooh's and aah's from my big, fat, Cuban family. I'll share the super-simple-but-impressive-why-didn't-I-think-of-this-earlier recipe with you right now.

Avocado Cocktails Recipe

• 4-5 ripe avocados
• 1 bottle cocktail sauce
• 1 fresh lemon
• salt & pepper to taste

1) Slice avocados into 1 inch chunks.

2) Put the avocado chunks into a medium size bowl and give them a squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

3) Add salt & pepper to taste and gently mix the avocados with a wooden spoon. You're just coating them with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, so you want to mix as gently as possible.

4) Pour cocktail sauce over the avocado chunks and mix to coat.

5) Gently spoon coated avocado into serving cups.

6) Pour another small amount of cocktail sauce into your cups.

7) Then give them each another squeeze of lemon for flavor.

8) Garnish with lemon slices or wedges and chill for at least an hour.

9) Serve cold.

10) Take bows.

My mom will be happy because she's getting her avocado. My family will sooo love these appetizers. (Total win!)

Starting our Nochebuena right - Thank you, Avocados from Mexico.

Nochebuena preparations are in full swing around here.

The pig is happily marinating in the Mojo Criollo I told you about a few days ago. The Matervas are chilling in the fridge. Lucy is out in the world on a hunt for Turrones.

Every time the phone rings or there is a text, it is Christmas related.

My sister, Helen, calls: "We need an appetizer."

We have tons of food for Nochebuena. Need is a relative word here. But I know better than to argue with my big sister. She's Cuban. And she's helping with the food. Enough said.

My mom calls: "We need a green salad." What she means by that, is a salad with just lettuce, asparagus, and avocado. She doesn't usually eat salad. She just wants an excuse to have avocados.

Cubans love avocados. My sister wants appetizers. My mom wants her avocado. (This is a winning scenario for me.)

Enter: Avocados from Mexico. Thankyouverymuch.

I've got this.

Avocados logo

I'm making Avocado Cocktails for my appetizers. And I'm already anticipating the ooh's and aah's from my big, fat, Cuban family. I'll share the super-simple-but-impressive-why-didn't-I-think-of-this-earlier recipe with you right now.

Avocado Cocktails Recipe

• 4-5 ripe avocados
• 1 bottle cocktail sauce
• 1 fresh lemon
• salt & pepper to taste

Avocados

1) Slice avocados into 1 inch chunks.

Slice avocado

2) Put the avocado chunks into a medium size bowl and give them a squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

3) Add salt & pepper to taste and gently mix the avocados with a wooden spoon. You're just coating them with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, so you want to mix as gently as possible.

Mix lemon & avocado

4) Pour cocktail sauce over the avocado chunks and mix to coat.

Mix cocktail & avo

5) Gently spoon coated avocado into serving cups.

6) Pour another small amount of cocktail sauce into your cups.

7) Then give them each another squeeze of lemon for flavor.

Squeeze of lemon

8) Garnish with lemon slices or wedges and chill for at least an hour.

Avocado cocktails final

9) Serve cold.

10) Take bows.

My mom will be happy because she's getting her avocado. My family will sooo love these appetizers. (Total win!)

{Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Avocados from Mexico and they are generously compensating me for sharing this. The recipe is my own. I am thrilled that they gave me the impetus to make such a delicious dish with my family. I'm sooo winning here.}

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For more fabulous recipes from Celebrity Chef Pepín, please visit the Avocados from Mexico Posadas site.

It's Not Easy Being Green - Avocados from Mexico

Growing up Cuban meant we didn't eat many salads. And by "many," I mean, "none."

For the most part, the only time green things appeared on our plates were the tiny, diced pieces of bell pepper in our sofrito. (For the uninformed, sofrito is at the beginning of most Cuban dishes. Sauteed onion, garlic, and green bell pepper form the basis of the magic that is Cuban food, but that's not important right now.)

We add asparagus to our Arroz con Pollo and I think that pretty much ends our venture into "green" territory.

The exception being that on special occasions, we were treated to An Avocado Salad. *insert heavenly choir here*

Having grown up here in California makes me partial to the beautiful dark-skinned Avocados from Mexico (as opposed to the big, fat, smooth ones from South Florida). Don't judge me. I also make a pretty mean guacamole.

Today, Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year. Which means that we get avocados here pretty much year-round. (Thank you, God.)

But every now and then I want my Avocados from Mexico to taste, well, Cuban. And this is my go-to salad. Don't you love it when I share?

Buen Provecho!

CUBAN-STYLE AVOCADO SALAD

• 2 ripe avocados, sliced
• 1/2 large sweet red onion, sliced into rings
• Sea salt
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 3 limes (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 packet of Sazón Goya Complete
• Salt & pepper to taste

1) Blanch the bell pepper by putting in a small bowl and microwaving on high for about 40 seconds. Let cool.

2) For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, Sazón Goya Complete and the cooled red bell pepper.

3) Arrange red onions on a plate, top with sliced avocados.

4) Salt the avocados.

5) Pour dressing over everything.

6) Top with fresh cilantro.

It totally feels like a special occasion, doesn't it?

Find many more avocado recipes (including mine!) on the Avocados from Mexico site.

{Disclaimer: I am being compensated by Avocados from Mexico for this campaign. Isn't that totally awesome?}