Tomatoes and Avocadoes...

I was at an upscale restaurant recently and ordered an heirloom tomato avocado salad.  The salad was very spendy...granted it was heirloom tomatoes, but I still felt that I paid too much for it.  I was certain that I could make a better tomato avocado salad at home using tomatoes from my family member's gardens.  So I created my own version of tomato avocado salad!  I added pine nuts and basil to mine along with the avocadoes and tomatoes, and dressed it in a reisling olive oil vinaigrette with just the right amount of sweet and tart.  I finished it off with pink peppercorns and fleur de sel because I love those little salty bits atop my salad!  It turned out better than the salad I had in the restaurant and the best part was it was all made with ingredients I had gotten for free and already had on hand!  This is a simple, yet delicious salad!

Summer Tomato and Avocado Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts

Serves 3

3 Tbsp reisling vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups salad greens of your choice
2 medium, 2 small, and 2 large organic tomatoes, cut into slices
1 large just ripe avocado halved and cut into thin slices
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
about 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

fleur de sel

pink peppercorns

Whisk together reisling vinegar and olive oil and set aside.  To assemble, line up 3 plates.  Divide greens evenly between the three.  Arrange tomatoes on each of the 3 plates, putting about an equal amount of small medium and large tomato slices on each.  Top with the avocado slices, pine nuts and basil, dividing evenly between the three, then drizzle each with a bit of the oil/reisling mixture.  Sprinkle each salad with a little fleur de sel and pink peppercorns.  Serve immediately!