The Great Green Salad with Avocado Rings

Sometimes there isn't anything nicer to eat than a great green salad, full of crunch and alive with flavour.This bowl of salad is bursting with nutrition, and a delightful dressing combination of cumin, cayenne and citrus spices up an already intriguing taste.  Garnish the salad bowl with pretty green avocado-cherry tomato rings, making a feast for the eyes as well as the tongue.

Great Greens with Avocado and Mandarin Orange

You'll need: 1 medium zucchini, 2 broccoli stalks, 1 small cucumber, 2 cups of mixed greens (napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, baby spinach) 1/2 cup soaked and sprouted sunflower seeds, 2 oranges, 2 avocados, 2 t cumin powder, 1 t coriander powder, 1 t dried oregano, 1 t dried thyme, 1/2 t summer savory, cayenne pepper to taste, juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 T olive oil, cherry tomatoes, salt, black pepper.

Dried herbs in lemon-cumin dressing with Sunflower seeds

The Dressing:  In a serving bowl, whisk lemon juice and oil together with dried oregano, thyme, summer savory, and cayenne pepper.  Add sunflower seeds and mix well, allowing ingredients to marinade.

Add two diced oranges to the bowl.

     

 

Wash the zucchini, and grate into the dressing in bowl. Mix well.

Wash and pat dry romaine lettuce, napa cabbage and baby spinach. Stack 2 -3 of each kind of leaf, and roll them up into a cylinder.  Cut each roll once lengthwise, and then slice crosswise into thin  strips. Wash and dice the cucumber. Peel broccoli stalks and chop into small pieces.  Add mixed greens,cucumber, broccoli pieces, and avocado (see garnish below) to salad and toss ingredients together.

The Avocado Garnish: Cut the avocados in half width-wise and remove pit.  Peel each half, and carefully slice across the avocado to create rings.  Chop solid top and bottom avocado segments into cubes, and add these to the salad along with the mixed greens.  Spritz the rings with lemon juice and a twist of freshly-cracked black pepper. Cut cherry tomatoes into halves.

 
To Serve: Arrange the avocado rounds on top of the salad, placing a cheery tomato in the center of each round. Dust salad with a sprinkling of coriander powder.