Nature's butter...

I call avocadoes "nature's butter", because their texture is like no other fruit, and they have a wonderful delicate flavor that can be used to make things silky when pureed.  The funny thing is avocadoes clean your blood, and butter clogs it...don't get me wrong, I love butter, and there is a time and a place for it, but avocado fat is the type that you always feel good about eating.  I was in California about a month ago, and I had a wonderful salad that featured avocadoes.  So yesterday I decided to try and recreate it, because I came across some beautiful avocadoes at the store while I was shopping...maybe I was subconsciously thinking I needed to provide my body with some good oils and nutrients after a big workout?  Well the fact that the avocadoes were on sale helped I guess, and the fact that they are just so darn good!  So I picked up some butter lettuce, mushrooms, and roquefort cheese to go in the salad as well, because those were all things that the salad I had out in CA contained.  I am not sure what type of dressing the restaurant used on their salad, it probably contained mayonnaise, but me, not being a fan of mayo, decided to use pureed avocado to make the dressing creamy.  I threw in some lemon juice, and garlic to give it some zip, as well as some honey to keep it sweet.  When it was all tossed together and we were eating it with dinner, I decided that I liked it better than the one I had eaten in California!  It had all the same toppings like the diced avocadoes, roquefort, egg and mushrooms, but what was different was the dressing...and of course I believe that what made this salad better was the humble avocado! 

Avocado and Mushroom Salad with Roquefort and Egg
Dressing:
1 Tbsp Avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 medium ripe avocado
2 small garlic cloves
1 Tbsp honey plus a tsp
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad:
2 heads bibb lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite salad sized pieces
2 small avocados, cut into large dice (preferrably just ripe, not too mushy)
12 small crimini mushrooms,thinly sliced
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, finely diced (easiest to use an egg slicer)
2 oz good quality roquefort cheese, crumbled

In a food processor, combine dressing ingredients, blend until very smooth and set aside. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, avocadoes, mushrooms, and shallots. Toss with enough dressing to coat, and divide lettuce mixture between 4 plates. Scatter diced egg and roquefort over the salads dividing evenly among the four plates, and serve!