My Favorite Chopped Summer Salad

So simple, this is my favorite chopped summer salad, which balances avocado, tomato, cucumber and onion perfectly. Simplicity at its best!

So I toyed with not even posting this recipe. It’s so simple, it’s not even a recipe. But it’s so good. It’s not very exceptional in theory, per se, but so exceptional in eating and flavor. This is my favorite chopped summer salad and I’m including it here because I eat it SO often. It’s my stand-by recipe when I don’t feel like making anything, and it’s the perfect balance of sweet, salty and pungent. It comes together quickly, is simply gorgeous to eat, fill me up and pairs nicely with so many proteins. So maybe for those reasons alone, it deserves a shout-out.

The Formula

It’s quite simple: tomatoes (the yellow heirlooms are my favorite), red onion, cucumber, avocado, salt and apple cider vinegar. It’s similar to an Italian tomato salad (with balsamic, oil, and salt) but this one kicks it up a notch. I also add some chili flakes (as I do to everything) and that gives a bit of heat.

Ayurvedic Tastes

There are 6 tastes in Ayurveda, which are: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent, and pungent. I wonder if this recipe is so satisfying becuse it hits so many of those flavors:

• Pungent (onion)
• Sweet (tomato)
• Salty (well, salt)
• Sour (apple cider vinegar)
• Bitter or astringent (sometimes, cucumber)

No matter what, they are a perfect blend of what’s in season this summer. So in a way, mother nature knew what she was doing when she put these veggies together.

Pairings

Go wild and crazy and add some chickpeas to this, you won’t be disappointed, and it will create a super awesome balanced meal. Serve it over quinoa, millet, throw in some cold rice as I have done in the past. It’s forgiving and lovely, either way.

My Favorite Summer Chopped Salad

Andreea Fegan, www.LittleBitesOfJoy.com

So simple, this is my favorite chopped summer salad, which balances avocado, tomato, cucumber and onion perfectly. It’s so simple, but it still deserves a recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 1 heirloom tomato, diced
• 1 kirby cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• drizzle of apple cider vinegar
• salt, to taste
• basil, optional
• chili flakes, for the top

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients together and mix with a spoon. Taste for seasoning and garnish with chili flakes.

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