Summer Seafood & Vegetable Salad Tower

The following recipe and photography were created in collaboration with Lauren Schulte. To see more of her bites and meals, visit her Instagram @TheBiteSizePantry. 

This salad will tower over the rest. Summer basically knocking on our front door and I promise, nothing is better than this light, fresh and colorful salad. With layers and layers of fresh seafood and greens, plus a little bit of cheese, you’ll want to demolish these salad towers.

All you’ll need is a short, cylindrical cup or mug and a little bit of cooking spray to build your salad tower. Spray the inside of the cup with the cooking spray before adding the layers of ingredients. This prevents the salad from sticking to the inside of the glass when you turn it upside-down onto a plate or serving dish. Then, add all of the layers into the cup, making sure to press down each layer with a spoon so that every layer holds together.

Take a plate or serving platter and place it over top of the cup (make sure the serving side of the plate is up against the rim of the cup) and then flip it over with the cup pressed firmly against the plate. Give the cup a few taps around the edges and on the bottom (which is now the top) and shake it loose. All the layers should slip out from your cup and you have yourself a salad tower that even the world’s leading architects would admire.

Summer Seafood & Vegetable Salad Tower

Serves 2 

Ingredients

• 6 oz. Verlasso salmon or cooked shrimp, raw
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1/2 a seedless cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup baby tomatoes, diced (You can use canned or whole tomatoes if you have those on hand.)
• 1/3 cup mozzarella balls or medallions, diced (Shredded cheese will not give the salad enough height or a cohesive look.)
• 2 Tbsp.  fresh chives, diced

Instructions

1. Spray the inside of a cup or mug with cooking spray.
2. If you want to add the salmon (or shrimp) to your salad tower, remove the salmon skin and place the fish in a food processor. Give it a couple of pulses until it forms a chunky puree. Add the olive oil and chives to the food processor and pulse it together.
3. Since the bottom of the cup will be the top of the salad tower once you flip it over, place the layer of salad that you want at the top in the bottom of the cup. I like to put the mozzarella cheese at the bottom first before I add the rest of the layers, but you can start with whatever you want.
   Flatten each layer of the salad tower with a spoon as you add them to the cup.
4. Once you have added each layer and your cup is full, take a serving plate and place the top of the plate face down on the rim of your glass. Pressing the glass firmly against the top of the plate, flip it over so that the cup in upside down on top of the plate.
5. Tap the top and the edges of your cup to loosen the layers and then slowly and carefully lift your cup off of the plate. The salad should slide right out while still retaining its tower-like shape.
6. This makes for a beautiful and unique presentation. For even more fun, you can take your utensil of choice and smash that tower down to the ground and dig in.

Note: If you don’t want to add the salmon or shrimp to your salad that is perfectly fine. You can simply make this salad with the avocado, tomato and mozzarella. If going “fish free,” you might also want to add a drizzle of Heinen’s Balsamic Glaze to your salad for some extra flavor flare.

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