Avocado and Salmon Salad

The sun is shining brightly in Austin and it's been steadily warming up too.   I'm in such a spring type of mood, both in the house as in spring cleaning AND in the kitchen as in making lighter dishes.   I've been wanting to do something fun with avocado's and this experiment turned out delish!   Toasted pine nuts add crunch and texture to the creamy avocado with salmon and the basil, scallions, zest of lemon and orange.   This would be a great salad to use at an outdoor luncheon, Bridal Shower or any springy celebration.

Avocado and Salmon Salad

Ingredients:

• Ripe Avocados
• 4 - 6 oz cooked salmon (smoked if you prefer)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 1 T fresh basil, julienned
• juice of a fresh lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh lemon and orange zest
• mixed greens
• pine nuts, toasted

Directions:   In a small saute pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts.  

In a medium bowl, combine the cooked salmon with the scallions, mayonnaise, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and zest and mix well, breaking the salmon up into bite sized pieces.

Just before serving, cut the avocado's in half, remove the seed and remove from the skin, keeping the half in tact.   To plate, start with a bed of mixed greens, then the avocado, topped with the salmon mixture and garnished with toasted pine nuts and zest.   Serve immediately!