Cucumber, Grapefruit & Avocado Salad w Mustard Dressing

As I mentioned, this Cucumber, Grapefruit & Avocado Salad w Mustard Dressing is a fabulous base that you can add to or swap ingredients for depending on what you have on hand. Currently due to the amount of cucumbers our garden is spitting out, cucumbers are the base of every salad in our home right now. Likewise, my Mum and Dad’s fruit trees are loaded with apples, pears, plums and grapefruits, so we have literally a wheelbarrow amount to work our way through.

When you have a glut of fruit and vegetables from the garden you really do need to get serious about (a) sharing with friend or the local community, (b) pickling and (c) stewing. We have taken up all three areas pretty fiercely this past month with dropping off boxes of mixed fruit and veg to neighbours and also going hardcore on the stewed apple, stewed plums and pickled cucumber. Once you have a hefty amount of the stewed fruit in particular, you can pop it into jars (leaving space at the top for expansion) and place in the freezer to use all year around. There is nothing better than being able to pull out some stewed pears, apple or plums in the depth of the cold to enjoy on the top of your steaming porridge.

Salads are actually something I take pretty seriously. I’ve been known in my friend circles as the one to ask to bring a salad. I’m all about the balance of not only the flavours but the textures. The way you choose to chop the ingredients that go into the salad can really affect the final finish and experience. For instance, finely chopped or larger more mouthful size? Each offers a different outcome. I also think about how you can develop crunch in a salad, alongside providing sweetness with saltiness. I want a salad to be an experience on its own and not just some sad afterthought.

Some classic examples of this (if you allow me a humble moment to brag) are my slow roast tomato, capsicum & basil salad, moroccan eggplant & lemon buckwheat salad, beetroot, basil & parsley salad w honey macadamias alongside some of my all time favourites in e.a.t cookbook such as the sprout and artichoke salad w ginger dressing.

We use a lot of these salads with our clients at The JCN Clinic as a way to introduce them to new flavours and experiences with whole foods. There is just so much you can do with salads to make them an absolute joy and the star of any meal. I’m always about educating here and diversifying what can be used.

Common salad adaption questions…

Even though this Cucumber, Grapefruit & Avocado Salad w Mustard Dressing is quite simplistic and easy to make year round, I would love to offer up some options for swaps as the seasons change and alternative produce is plentiful.

• Cucumber alternative – pick another green with some hardy texture. Massaged kale would work well for instance or broccoli (yes you can use broccoli in a salad).
• Grapefruit alternative – you could use a lot of options here still enjoying the pairing of a fruit in a salad. Think about a fruit that will go well with the acid and tang of the mustard dressing. Any other citrus would work like orange or tangerine alongside apple or pear. I’d even use white nectarine.
• Avocado alternative – you don’t have an avocado on hand or they are just too damn expensive? Think about how you can add another fat instead for creaminess. I like nuts such as walnuts, pecans and macadamia nuts. You could also use crumbled feta.
• Other add ins – as I said this Cucumber, Grapefruit & Avocado Salad w Mustard Dressing really is a base you can build from. I like to add a leafy green or herb. Often for me that is chopped sorrel or parsley. I also like adding in freshly chopped oregano. I do like that crunch I mentioned earlier, so often I will add some walnuts or pecan nuts. Finely my other favourite add on is a dried fruit like sultanas or raisons. I love their sweetness with the acid of the grapefruit and the tang of the dressing.

If you have any more questions abut modifying this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. I am always happy to help out and find an ingredient sub or tweak to make it work for you.

Enjoy! x