Avocado, crispy bacon and white bean salad

Simple and delicious – and your microbiome will love it. On a non-fast day, use a whole avocado and twice the amount of pine nuts, or top with Parmesan shavings and serve with a slice of wholegrain sourdough bread.

Credit: Smith & Gilmour

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 rashers smoked back bacon (around 75 g), thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 2 Little Gem lettuces, trimmed and leaves separated
• ½ 400 g can cannellini or haricot beans, drained and rinsed (123 g drained weight)
• ½ small avocado, peeled, stoned and sliced (around 60 g prepared weight)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a small non-stick frying pan, add the bacon and pine nuts and fry over a low-medium heat for 2–3 minutes, or until the bacon is lightly browned and beginning to crisp, stirring regularly.

2. Meanwhile, tear the lettuce leaves into pieces and divide between two shallow bowls. Scatter the beans, avocado and tomatoes on top. Season with a little ground black pepper.

3. Remove the frying pan from the heat, stir in the remaining olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Allow to bubble for a few seconds then spoon over the salad to serve.

Extracted from The Fast 800 Easy by Dr Clare Bailey and Justine Pattison. Published by Simon & Schuster Australia, RRP $35. Photography © Smith & Gilmour

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.