Red Slaw, Watercress and Avocado Salad

Often the best dishes evolve from leftovers made into something new. I happened to have some red slaw I had made hastily the day before--a very simple combination of sliced red cabbage, red onion, and celery, grated beet, and a taratour sauce left over from the day before that.

Taratour, if you don't already know, is a tahini-lemon sauce used in the Middle East with, among other things, felafel. I've found that it also excels as a creamy salad dressing. It's very easy to make; just whisk together about 1/4 cup each of  fresh lemon juice, tahini (the Middle Eastern-style roasted is good), a couple tablespoons of EVOO, and about a half-teaspoon of sea salt. It's not really a traditional component, but I also add a clove or two of garlic, crushed in a garlic press or pounded with the salt in a mortar. If you want a thinner sauce, just whisk in a little water.

The rest was very quick. I sliced avocado halves and fanned them out on one third of each plate. I mounded some of the slaw down the middle, alongside the avocado, and then tossed a bunch of hydroponic watercress with some of the taratour and piled it next to the slaw. As a final touch, I sprinkled a few Balinese "hollow pyramid" coarse sea salt crystals over the avocado, and strewed romaine lettuce microgreens onto the slaw.

A fabulous late lunch, it went down remarkably fast (we were hungry), but it also landed gently and kept going, so we'll be able to eat dinner at a reasonable hour. What a life I'm having!