Butter Lettuce & Cilantro Salad w/ Avocados & Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

I shared a wonderful Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette on Friday with a promise for a delicious salad ..........



I have a feeling that, once you try this delicious Butter Lettuce & Cilantro Salad w/ Avocados & Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, you'll find yourself making it again and again. It is a perfect side salad along with just about any dinner entree, but it's also fabulous with grilled or roasted chicken, beef or pork. Seared or grilled shrimp would be wonderful piled on top or a scatter of Applewood bacon would be delightful (with the bacon, you could even change the name to BLT Salad!). If you're not a cilantro lover, exchange the cilantro for fresh basil...........

Are you getting the picture? Another one of my Little Black Dress recipes - a staple in your recipe wardrobe, dress it up or down, swap out ingredients for what you have or what you prefer. The dressing recipe will make much more than you need for four salads, so have fun seeing how many different types of salads you can come up with!

Butter Lettuce & Cilantro Salad w/ Avocado & Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

1 6-ounce bag butter or bib lettuce, about 6 cups
1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (I like to leave some of the leaves intact, just to look pretty on the salad - if you're in a hurry just go ahead and chop it all)
½ medium red bell pepper, diced fairly small
¼ medium red onion, diced fairly small
2 medium avocado*, cut in half and pitted, each half cut in quarters and then sliced widthwise into quarter inch slices
3 medium plum tomatoes**, cut in half lengthwise, then each half quartered, lengthwise
1 cup Feta*** cheese, crumbled (goat cheese would also be delicious)
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, see recipe here
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Arrange butter lettuce and cilantro on four serving plates. Sprinkle with red onion, red pepper, plum tomatoes, avocado and cheese.

2. Drizzle each salad lightly with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

PRINTABLE RECIPE