A cool salad for hot days

Avocado salad with mojo verde is the perfect no-cook recipe

Hola friends, is it just me or is it almost too hot to cook right now (other than grilling, of course!)? We all get to that point every summer where the idea of turning on a stove is too much—believe me, it happens to even the most passionate cooks out there! During these days, we’d rather spend time somewhere cool, with a glass of something even colder (maybe try to make a vermouth margarita, like Marti Buckley?). Meals are assembled, rather than cooked, with the ripest, best ingredients of the season, with fresh and bright flavors, and nothing too heavy!

Today I have a perfect recipe for these mid-summer days: ensalada de aguacate con mojo verde—avocado salad with mojo verde, the very famous green sauce of the Canary Islands. This dish, which we serve at Spanish Diner, is inspired by the flavors of the beautiful Islas Canarias, a group of Spanish islands that are off the northwest coast of Africa, and their climate is almost tropical. A lot of the flavors that come from the islands are also tropical…fruits like mangoes, guavas, papayas, and plantains, will give you that tropical fix while visiting Spain at the same time! There are also some amazing cheeses and wines…and of course fresh seafood. 

This recipe features mojo verde, which is a classic Canary Island sauce with cumin, cilantro, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. The ingredients are all fresh and blended together, with no cooking required (except to toast the cumin seeds, but that doesn’t take long at all!), and you can use it on so many things—potatoes (like in the amazing dish Papas Arrugadas), eggs, fish, meat, and fresh vegetables, whatever you want to do! The mojo verde goes perfectly with the creamy avocado, all topped with goat cheese and bright, tangy lime. It’s an amazing first course, or you could add a protein like shrimp and have a light, healthy and easy dinner without heating up your kitchen!

Ensalada de aguacate con mojo verde
Serves 4