Salad with Chipotle & Lemon Herb Shrimp and Creamy Avocado Dressing

I figured it was time to make a salad. It's been a while and I had this beautiful big leafy green lettuce, but what to put on it?  Well, this was my cue to head to the store with Dylan for some inspiration. As we were sampling our way down the aisles, we found some wonderful cheese, bread and shrimp. (The guys at the seafood counter were more than happy to give us samples of pretty much everything, Dylan thought this was pretty cool.)  I also found some beautiful green heirloom tomatoes that I just couldn't pass up along with some avocado, which just sounded good at the time.

Once back at home, it was time to start making dinner.  I began by chopping the lettuce and some fresh kale, placing into a large colander and rinsing with cold water. This was set aside to drain while I prepared the first dressing (yes, there is more than one dressing in this salad!). 

For the basic dressing, I added white wine vinegar to a bowl with chopped garlic scapes, finely chopped onion, sea salt and fresh black pepper. This was whisked while I added in the olive oil. Once fully combined, I poured the oil and vinegar mixture over top of the lettuce (now in a large bowl) and tossed to make sure that all of the lettuce was coated.

Next, I toasted up some slices of both french and seeded french bread in a little olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.

Finally, I made the avocado dressing. In a food processor, I placed one peeled, pitted avocado, the juice from half a lime and a few tablespoons of olive oil. This was blended until smooth and creamy (adding more olive oil to get the right consistency).

To assemble, I placed a large pile of lettuce in the middle of a plate which was then covered in shaved carrot and shaved cheese (unfortunately, I can't remember the name of this cheese, but it was delicious). I also chopped the remaining hot capicola and sprinkled this on top too.  Next, I sliced some cucumber and zucchini, quartered the heirloom tomatoes and coarsely chopped a bit of nectarine, adding this to the plate as well. Then I topped the whole thing with a large spoonful of the avocado dressing and a few chipotle shrimp, as well as some lemon herb shrimp.

Can I just say, I am getting hungry just thinking about how good this salad turned out last night, although I would have been perfectly satisfied just making the avocado dressing and dipping the shrimp in it, or maybe just grabbing a spoon and eating the dressing as is. (Yes, it really is that tasty!)