This tasty salad was the result of desperation, preparedness and luck — all helpful elements for fast meals on the fly.
You know that advice you always hear to cook a big batch of whole grains early in the week for healthy, fast meals later on? Well, it pays off. This salad — borne out of desperation, preparedness and luck — is proof.
I needed to throw together a quick lunch to take out the door with me. And I was prepared with good ingredients on hand — clean lettuce greens, a persimmon and a batch of cooked freekeh. (What’s freekeh, you ask? Roasted young green wheat — it’s a quick-cooking whole grain that I predict will be everywhere at the upcoming Winter Fancy Food Show next month.) And I was lucky the avocado had reached just-right ripeness. On-hand components like these make for great fast meals.
The result: a salad that was pleasing to the eye, massively delicious and satisfying. But preparedness was really the key here. Because I had the components on hand, it came together in less than 10 minutes. The dog watched me very closely as I ate this, which is always a good sign.
Avocado-Persimmon Salad with Freekeh
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups salad greens (I use a combo of frisee and red leaf lettuce)
½ cup cooked freekeh or bulgur
1 small persimmon, thinly sliced (no, I don’t bother to peel it)
½ avocado, diced
1 tablespoon crumbled bleu cheese
Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the greens, freekeh, persimmon and avocado, gently tossing with your hands to combine. Top with bleu cheese.
Serves 1