The other morning I was about to leave for work and noticed that I had a very ripe avocado on the counter, which was sitting next to a grapefruit.  I thought about our plans that evening, and decided that the only way I was going to eat the avocado before it passed its prime was to bring it to work.  I chucked them both into my bag, and off I went. 

When it was lunch time, I decided I would just make an avocado and grapefruit salad – those two flavors pair beautifully together – the tartness of the grapefruit with the creamy mild avocado is wonderful combination.  When I tried it though, it was missing something.  It needed a dressing – not a heavy one, but it needed something else.  I decided to venture to the cafeteria to see what I could find.  Now, I work at a big company – and there are a lot of foodies around that make sure the cafeteria is somewhat decent.  We have famous chefs like Thomas Keller and Mario Batali that show up every once in a while to sign books – I was sure I could find something that I could make work.

I went to the salad station, and none of the dressings sounded good – so I decided to make my own.  I took some olive oil and balsamic, and put them in a to go container.  As I was making my way past the condiments – it hit me – it needed a french vinaigrette – so I put in a dab of Dijon mustard – mixed it all together and that was it.  It was beautiful.  Thanks cafeteria for helping with my creation.

Ingredients

• 1 pink grapefruit
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tbl. balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbl. olive oil

Preparation

Supreme the grapefruit by cutting about 1/4″ off of both ends so the pink flesh shows through.  Take a knife and carefully cut off the skin around the fruit so that all the white is removed.  Cut down along fruit section to the center, then turn knife to loosen section and lift out. Repeat for other sections.  Place the grapefruit in a bowl.

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and score the avocado in a cross-hatch pattern, being careful not to break the skin.  Scoop out the avocado with a spoon and separate the chunks of fruit adding it to the grapefruit.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small container with a lid – and shake until everything comes together.  Drizzle dressing over the grapefruit and avocado one tablespoon at a time, tasting after each tablespoon so as not to add too much dressing.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here:  Avocado and Grapefruit Salad