carrot and avocado salad

I thought it might be time I had an avocado recipe on my blog! The preparation is for this salad is so easy, you can make a couple of servings at a time and let the second one sit in the fridge until lunch the next day when it will taste even better. It is inspired by one from www.chocolateandzucchini.com 

You can make this salad however you want but the basic is still the same. I throw in fresh herbs -- especially coriander/cilantro -- I often use tofu-which I have marinated in soy sauce, fresh ginger and fresh garlic and then grilled until golden brown,  you could also put in fresh sprouts-mustard seed, mung bean, lentil into the salad. But the basic structure, give or take, is outlined below.

- One ripe hass avocado, diced


- The juice of a lemon or a lime


- A dash of balsamic vinegar


- Fine sea salt, freshly ground pepper


- Tabasco sauce or similar or strong mustard, to taste


- 4 medium carrots, about 450 grams total, peeled and grated


- 250 grams firm marinated and cooked tofu or smoked tofu (unfortunately in Tanzania smoked Tofu is not available however it is a firm favourite of mine and work well with this), diced


- Toasted seeds -- sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, or a mix thereof (I often toast them with a slash of tamari)

Serves 2.

Combine the avocado, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar in a medium salad bowl, and mash the avocado roughly with a fork. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce. Fold in the carrots and tofu, and stir until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for half an hour or up to a day. Toss again before serving, adjust the seasoning, and sprinkle with liberal amounts of toasted seeds.