Avocado, Asparagus, and Sprout Salad
Home-sprouted green peas and quinoa with baby spinach, raw asparagus tips, plum tomatoes and watercress, layered with sliced avocado and a coarse avocado and pine nut puree, under a mustard vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1¼ cup dried green peas, suitable for sprouting
- 1¼ cup quinoa, whole, suitable for sprouting
- 6¼ cup baby spinach
- 6¼ ounce asparagus, baby tips
- 40 cherry tomatoes, baby plum
- 2½ cup watercress, fresh
- 5 avocado, ripe, pitted, peeled, and sliced into bite-size pieces
- 5 tablespoon pine nuts
- 20 sprig basil, fresh
- 3¾ teaspoon olive oil, cold-pressed extra virgin
Dressing
- 5 tablespoon olive oil, cold-pressed extra virgin
- 3¾ teaspoon wine vinegar
- 5 teaspoon agave nectar
- 2½ teaspoon stone-ground mustard
- 1¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1¼ teaspoon black pepper
Method
- To sprout the peas, put them into a wide-neck glass jar and soak overnight in lukewarm water, covered with cheesecloth or a similar material. In the morning, drain and rinse the peas and fill the jar with fresh water. Drain and rinse the peas twice a day for five days, until they sprout. Rinse and drain to use.
- To sprout the quinoa, use the same method as the peas but soak them for only 4 hours. They will sprout in about two days.
- Arrange the spinach, all but ten of the asparagus tips, and the plum tomatoes in five serving dishes with most of the watercress.
- Arrange three-quarters of the avocado slices in the dishes with the remaining watercress and the pea and quinoa sprouts. Sprinkle three-quarters of the pine nuts on top.
- In a small bowl, mash the remaining avocado with the remaining pine nuts, fifteen of the basil sprigs, and the olive oil until you have a coarse puree.
- Make the dressing by thoroughly combining the ingredients in a small dish. Spoon most of it over the salad.
- Finish the salad by arranging two asparagus tips in the center of each dish, followed by a fifth of the avocado puree and a basil sprig. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing to serve.
Notes
The peas need five days to sprout and the quinoa two, so start well ahead. Slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts work in place of the pine nuts. Sprouted seeds are not recommended for young children, older adults, pregnant women, or anyone with a weakened immune system.Adapted from The Eat Raw Kitchen (Love Food). Ingredients and method only — the description and any notes above were written for VegBatch.