Recipe: Salsa salad

Salsa salad. Photo / Michael Craig

A fresh salsa makes a simple accompaniment to grilled meats and vegetables. You can also use it to top salad leaves and you have your salad components and dressing in one go.

Serves 4

2 avocados
3 medium tomatoes
1 medium red onion
1 red chilli
Fresh basil/parsley or coriander leaves
3 tbsp olive or avocado oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Crisp lettuce leaves

1 Skin and dice the avocado and cover with the lemon juice in a bowl.

2 Remove the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes but leave the skin on. Dice and add to the avocado.

3 Finely dice the red onion and add to the bowl.

4 Slice as much red chilli as you favour, remove the seeds for a less fiery result.

5 Rip the fresh herb leaves into the mix.

6 Season well with salt and pepper.

7 Mix in the olive oil through and serve in a jar or dish.

8 Make a bed of crisp lettuce. Cos or iceberg stand up longer in the outdoors than the softer varieties.

Allow your guests to pile the salsa onto their salad leaves.

Hint: You want the avocado to be soft, but over-ripe fruit will turn to mush in the mix and go a nasty brown.