This avocado onion salad can be served as an appetizer or a side salad for a variety of dishes. It’s creamy, crunchy and flavorful. It was inspired by the avocado onion salad in Gran Cocina Latina Cookbook by Maricel Presilla.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 1 avocado, sliced
- Several thin slices from a sweet onion
- 2 Tbsp. Sweet and Spicy Pepitas* (Pumpkin Seeds)
- 1/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese*
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tsp. honey* (optional)
- A couple pinches of sea salt
- 2 roasted garlic cloves*, smashed, minced (or 1 raw garlic clove, minced)
- 2 – 3 Tbsp. olive oil (to taste)
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Place the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a small bowl and whisk. Taste and adjust balance to your tastes. Set aside.
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Prep all of the other ingredients before cutting the avocado.
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Slice the avocado and place the slices onto a plate.
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Top with onion slices, pepitas and cotija cheese.
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Give the vinaigrette another whisk or two and drizzle over salad.
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Serve immediately.
Avocado - Whether serving this as a salad, starter, or appetizer, estimate 1/2 avocado per person, then adjust the remaining ingredients accordingly. Also, cut the avocado after all of the other ingredients have been prepped to keep it from turning brown.
Sweet & Spicy Pepitas - For this salad I usually eliminate the lime juice in the pepita recipe. You could also make a quick batch if you happen to have some Red Chile Spice Mix made up already. Just toast 3 Tbsp. pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, then sprinkle with about 1 tsp. sugar. Stir until sugar has melted. Remove from heat and dust with about 1/2 tsp. red chile spice mix. Stir, transfer to a plate and let cool. Once cool, you'll need to use your fingers to separate the seeds because they'll be stuck together.
Note: Estimate 1 Tbsp. of pepitas per serving plus at least 1 Tbsp. to eat while prepping the salad.
Cotija Cheese - I've never made this salad with any cheese but cotija; however, you could substitute with queso fresco or possibly feta. Personally, I think feta might be too salty, but if that is what you have, give it a try and let me know how it works.
Garlic Lime Vinaigrette - The original recipe calls for raw garlic which I find rather pungent for a salad. So I replaced the raw garlic with roasted garlic which is more savory/sweet than pungent. If you don't have any roasted garlic already made, then just roast up a few on the stovetop. It takes about 15 minutes and you'll have extra for another use.
Honey - The honey removes a bit of the tartness from the lime juice, but if you like a tart vinaigrette, just leave it out.