Sometimes it practically takes an act of nature to get my busy girlfriends together. What will almost always do the trick though is when our friend Heather, who lived in Boise and then moved to Los Gatos, comes back for a visit. Schedules get rearranged. Evenings miraculously open up. Sometimes it’s nice to go out for these evenings, but other times it’s just nice to open up a couple special bottles of wine and stay in to catch up.

Such was the case recently and, since it’s summer, a big healthy salad came to mind. One that would be light and fresh but substantial enough to make a meal out of. I love salads but for some reason they always seem to taste better when someone else makes them. Why is that? The only thing I can come up with is that, especially at a restaurant, they usually put a lot more components in theirs than I do mine. Also, I often just use good olive oil as a dressing, and while tasty, it doesn’t add the most pizazz. Time to step up my game.

One of the gal’s gardens is producing an abundance of beautiful lettuces so each salad bowl was built on that foundation topped with colorful rows of:
• Yellow corn kernels
• Black and pint0 beans simmered with cumin, coriander, and chopped garlic
• Quinoa
• A quick salsa made with diced onions, tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro and a generous squeeze of lime juice
• Chunky cubes of avocado

To carry the flavors through to the dressing, I whipped up this Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing.

For a little crunch I found some interesting new chips – Garden of Eatin’ Butternut Squash Corn Chips and also their Kale Corn Chips – great for scooping up bits of salad. Turns out they are also pretty tasty dipped in the dressing.

With this Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing my salads just took a big step towards getting a lot more interesting!

Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing | Bistro OneSix

Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing
Serves: about 1 cup
 
Ingredients
  • 1 whole avocado, pit and peel removed
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro
  • ½ jalapeño, seeds removed
  • ¼ cup plain yogurt
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
  2. Thin with more water if needed to reach desired consistency.
  3. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Store covered in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing |Bistro OneSix