2018 RECIPE ELEVEN: Sunday February 4th - avocado salad recipe

BACK STORY:
It's the Super Bowl and instead of eating nachos and wings, I made two salads to clean out my fridge. This recipe came from Carrie's America's Test Kitchen cookbook in the avocado section.

NOTES:
This ended up being a glorified guacamole unintentionally, as I mixed the avocados (which were overly ripe to begin with) a bit too vigorously, so they lost their cubed consistency and became kind of a mash. The radishes add a great punch along with the shaved cheese. I accidentally added the toasted hazelnuts from the previous recipe to this bowl as I was assembling both salads at once; the toasty nut flavor added a nice dimension to the salad but isn't necessary when replicating.  And I skipped chilling the shallot mostly because I didn't have time, but it would help mellow out that flavor too (not that I noticed).

STARS: 
4 out of 5. A good recipe to make for a summer potluck.

RECIPE:

1 large shallot
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 avocados
12-oz cherry tomatoes
3 radishes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 ounces ricotta salata, shaved thin (or substitute Crumbled feta cheese)

1. Slice the shallot thinly and place in 2 cups of ice water. Allow to chill for 30 minutes, then drain and to blot them dry using paper towels.
2. Press garlic clove into a small glass bowl, and add red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1/4 teaspoon table salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.
3. Whisk until turns milky and there are no remaining lumps. Slowly drizzle oil into bowl, whisking constantly. You should not have pools of oil.
4. Cut avocados in half, remove the pit, and cut into 3/4″ dice. Put in medium bowl with 2 tablespoons of dressing and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon table salt. Carefully toss until avocado is lightly covered with dressing. Empty onto serving platter.
5. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and thinly slice the radishes. Chop the basil so that it yields 1/2 cup.
6. Add sliced and dried shallot, quartered tomatoes, sliced radishes and the rest of the dressing to the same medium bowl from step 4. Toss to coat and spread over avocados, and serve.