A refreshing guacamole is not just a dip for corn chips. With just a few additions, you have a lovely spring salad or first course. Add a little shrimp, and you have a light lunch.

I love avocados and eat them in some form most days. They are great simply sliced and drizzled with citrus atop a bed of greens, and there are a few combinations I absolutely love – shrimp being my favorite, also crab, and on the sweeter side, muskmelon, or cantaloupe. In fact, one of my favorite party skewers Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Melon and Avocado consists of grilled shrimp laced on skewers with avocado, muskmelon, and mint leaves, and drizzled with a little honey mixed with lime juice.

You can use the base of this salad on toast for breakfast, and it is pretty delicious just served up with a few crackers or corn chips for a snack.

Let the avocado be the star

I’m a bit of a snob about guacamole, and so is my daughter. We don’t like a lot aded to it; we want it to taste like avocados, not too much garlic or onions, and certainly not tomatoes mixed in, although I love to eat it with tomatoes on the side!

The centerpiece of this salad is the guac, but surrounded by the adornments that everyone loves, you’ll . There is something for everyone here, and you can add and subtract as you like.

If you like cilantro, substitute it for the parsley, but I think it overpowers the flavor of the avocado. Serves 6, individually or family style.

Spicy Guacamole Salad

4 Haas avocados, divided

Zest and juice of a lime

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 shallot, finely minced

Hot sauce to taste

Salt & pepper

Spicy greens or arugula

2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

Roasted pepitas or pistachios, optional

Flat leafed parsley

Crushed red pepper flakes, optional

Olive oil to drizzle

Slice the avocados in half lengthwise maneuvering the knife around the pits. Remove the pits, then scoop out the flesh into neat halves. Place three whole fruits in a mixing bowl, and chop the other into thick chunks. Reserve the chunks.

Mash the flesh in the bow with a fork, but don’t make it too smooth. Add the lime zest and juice and mix well, followed by the garlic, shallot, and hot sauce. Make this as spicy as you like! Add salt and pepper, then taste, correcting if you need more of anything. Gently mix in the rest of the avocado, reserving a few pieces still for the garnish.

Arrange a bounty of greens in the middle of the platter, or individual plates, then spread them out.

Divide the avocado flesh among the six plates, placing a small mound in the middle of each plate, and spread it out a bit. Or, if making one large salad, place it all in the middle of your platter.

Chop up your tomatoes and place those atop the greens around the avocado.

Drizzle with more hot sauce of choice, dot with nuts, the reserved avocado, sprinkle with parsley, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil on the tomatoes and greens. Add more salt and pepper to finish.

Spring Shrimp Avocado Salad: 

Add a few jumbo grilled roasted shrimp to each salad plate, and you have a full meal!

Make it a breakfast:

Top it with a poached egg, and you are all set!

Nutritional information:

Avocados are a great source of monounsaturated fat, fiber, protein, and is a low glycemic food. They contain Vitamins K , C, and E, folate, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid.

© Copyright 2019 – or current year, Dorothy Grover-Read, The New Vintage Kitchen.