Broccolini, Prosciutto, Feta — Avocado Salad -- The Bowl That Connects Every Table

I closed on a beautiful home in Temple Terrace this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.

Sophia came home with a perfect score on her lab report and announced it with the casual confidence of a girl who expects excellence from herself and receives it. She has Nikos's pride — the kind that pretends not to care while caring so fiercely it has its own gravitational field.

Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.

I made a watermelon and feta salad with fresh mint and olive oil. Sweet, salty, refreshing — the taste of summer distilled into a bowl. The kitchen smelled like lemon and charcoal and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.

The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.

The watermelon and feta salad I mentioned was gone before the wine glass was empty — that’s how it always goes with the dishes that feel most right. When I wanted to recreate that same sweet-salty-fresh combination for the table on a night with a little more substance, this broccolini, prosciutto, feta, and avocado salad became my answer: the brininess of the feta, the richness of the prosciutto, and the cool creaminess of avocado all together in one bowl. It’s the kind of salad that earns its place at an ordinary weeknight table and makes that table feel like something worth remembering.

Broccolini, Prosciutto, Feta & Avocado Salad

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 8 min | Total Time: 18 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch broccolini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 3 oz prosciutto, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Blanch the broccolini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccolini and cook for 2–3 minutes until bright green and just tender. Transfer immediately to an ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and pat dry.
2. Crisp the prosciutto. Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto pieces and cook 2–3 minutes, turning once, until lightly crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Assemble the salad. Arrange broccolini on a serving platter. Layer on the cherry tomatoes, red onion, and avocado slices. Scatter the crispy prosciutto and crumbled feta over the top.
5. Dress and serve. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the salad. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 245 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 520mg