A super easy salad with a unique and creamy avocado vinaigrette you’ll want to make over and over!

Finding a salad I love at a restaurant is a rare occurrence for me. My husband would tell you that I usually have a handful of complaints about nearly every salad I order, no matter where I’m dining. Too much dressing, too little lettuce, too close to something I make at home, or too trendy are among my most frequent complaints. Honestly, I just don’t feel like making good salads are a priority for most chefs, so the salad part of the menu is more of an afterthought and thus often mediocre.

But once in awhile, I’m super impressed by a salad. So much so that I come home and integrate my own version of it into our family salad rotation.

The Roasted Green Vegetables Salad from North Italia – a delicious, albeit enormous, Italian restaurant near me – is one of those salads. The first time I ordered it, I swear I spent a whole minute on each bite (a long time when you’re dining with toddlers) so I could taste every bit of flavor.

The veggies in this salad are fabulous – Brussels sprouts, romanesco, and broccolini – but what really seals the deal is their lemon avocado vinaigrette. This dressing is super lemony and light, yet also creamy thanks to the avocado. I have no idea how they make theirs, but I was immediately in love and thus had to make my own.

At home, I made the salad to accompany this dressing pretty simple. Partly to highlight the dressing and partly because I rarely have time to prepare and roast a big tray of vegetables for my own enjoyment 😉

You can take your version of this salad in any direction – it’s very versatile. But the dressing is so flavorful and hearty, you really only need the lettuce!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Romaine Heart Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

A super easy salad with a unique and creamy vinaigrette you'll want to make over and over!

Author: Amelia Winslow

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: American

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 5 oz Romaine hearts, washed and dried (I used a package of Earthbound Farm Easy Leaves)
• 1 green apple, chopped
• 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 large avocado
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp honey
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Blend ¾ of the avocado with the lemon juice, honey, salt and olive oil in a small blender or food processor until smooth (I used a stick blender - a.k.a immersion/hand blender and the tall cup it came with). Taste and add more salt if desired.
2. Chop Romaine hearts into bite-sized pieces and place in a salad bowl along with the chopped apple. Pour the dressing over the salad (you may have extra) and toss to combine.
3. Divide salad between two large bowls or plates and top each with half of the remaining avocado, goat cheese and sesame seeds.

3.5.3226