Butter Lettuce Summer Salad
By: Charlotte Miller
Servings: 1 large salad, or 2 small salads
Prep Time: 15 minutes
There is nothing better than a fresh and light summer salad after a day in the sun. Regardless of what your summer day looks like, this salad is the perfect lunch or dinner to reward your body with. Packed with healthy ingredients and tossed in a refreshing dressing, this is the summer salad of your dreams!
Of course, this salad includes avocados. Who doesn’t love avocados? If you needed another reason to love them and include them in your salads, they are “rich in protein and contains fat-soluble vitamins lacking in other fruits, including Vitamins A and B” (Duarte et. al, 2016). Yum!
Ingredients:
½ cucumber
1.5 handful of cherry tomatoes
3 cups of butter lettuce
1-2 avocados (I prefer 2, they are my absolute favorite)
Dressing Ingredients:
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of tightly packed basil (remove stems)
½ clove of garlic
¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
¼ cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
Instructions:
Wash the butter lettuce and add to a large bowl
Cut and dice the cucumber and tomatoes and add to the bowl
Cut open avocado, dice it, and add to the bowl
Blend ingredients of dressing for 60 seconds
If no blender: finely chop basil and whisk ingredients in a small bowl
Add a pinch of salt and pepper, then taste dressing (modify salt and pepper amount by preference)
Add dressing to the large bowl of salad and toss to mix ingredients
Serve on 1-2 plates and enjoy!
Reference List:
Duarte, P., Chaves, M., Borges, C., & Mendonça, C. (2016). Avocado: characteristics, health benefits and uses. Ciência Rural, 46(4), 747 754. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20141516