Avocado Cucumber Salad with Grapefruit and Tofu
The avocado is the center of discussion when it comes to one's ecological footprint. However, as tasty as it is, it is transported a long way and consumes a lot of water. So after the "big hype" that ended with avocado toast being offered in almost every café, criticism also grew. And not without reason, because it is always good to question one's consumption.
So why does avocado end up in today's salad after all – can we reconcile eating it with our conscience? Yes, indeed. One of our most important principles is conscious consumption! Just like other fruits, of course, avocados have a season – and we should pay attention to that instead of eating them all year round.
When calculating the ecobalance, you shouldn't just look at one factor – while water consumption is one of them, transport routes and the type of cultivation also have to be considered. While researching, we came across gebana, where you can order a box with 4 kg / 9 lb of avocados. They are grown organically in Kenya. The local smallholder families grow their fruit in areas of less than half a hectare. And since it rains comparatively much in Kenya, the avocado trees there even manage without additional watering. The fruit is then harvested when it's still quite hard so that it survives the more climate-friendly transport by ship (instead of plane). Once they reach you, the fruits can ripen.
In summary, everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to eat avocados. However, if you want to consume them, you should consider how the fruits are grown and transported. We are happy that we have found a good solution (for us). We now eat them way less often and with much more conscience. If you order from gebana by 03/19/2023, you will get the 4 kg box full of avocados in May. If you'd rather receive them in June, you can wait until 04/23/2023.
And what to cook with 4 kg of avocados? For example, our cold cucumber avocado soup, our "egg salad" or today's avocado salad with cucumber, grapefruit and tofu.
Avocado Cucumber Salad with Grapefruit and Tofu
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 avocados
- 1 cucumber
- 1 grapefruit
- 350 g (0.75 lb) baked tofu
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- toasted sesame oil for frying
For the dressing:
- 1 avocado
- 1 clove of garlic
- 10 g (0.33 oz) dill
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- water
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- nutmeg
To serve:
- approx. 50 g (1.75 oz) hazelnuts
- fresh dill
- chili crisp (optional)
- fresh bread
Instructions
Cut avocados and cucumber into bite-sized pieces. Peel the grapefruit and then filet or cut into small pieces. Arrange everything on a serving platter.
Cut the baked tofu cubes into thick slices and then into smaller pieces. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the tofu from both sides until golden brown. Finally, add soy sauce and toss the tofu around briefly.
At the same time, toast the hazelnuts in a grease-free pan. Then remove from the pan and chop coarsely.
For the dressing, puree the flesh of the avocado with a peeled clove of garlic, fresh dill and olive oil. Then add the juice and zest of a lime and water until creamy and pourable. Finally, season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar and nutmeg.
Top the avocado cucumber salad, with the tofu and distribute the toasted hazelnuts and dill evenly on top. For some extra spice, you can also add some chili crisp. Serve with fresh bread.
