This salad is a delicate combination of fruits, including tomatoes which are also really a fruit. You need juicy fresh melons with plenty of flavour . The dressing of fresh basil vinaigrette is truly delicious and slightly different. Do allow the salad to be removed from the fridge for about ¾ hour before serving as anything too cold has no flavour.

Ingredients

• 4 juicy ripe large tomatoes
• 1 rockmelon
• 1 honeydew melon
• 2 avocadoes
• 1 smoked chicken breast, skin removed

Basil Vinaigrette

• ¾ cup vinaigrette
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Method

1. Cut a cross in the top of each tomato and cut out the core. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water and refresh in cold water. Remove the skin. Cut into quarters.
2. Halve and deseed the rockmelon and honeydew melons. Ball the melons up or remove the skin and dice into 2cm pieces.
3. Peel, stone and slice the avocado. Slice the smoked chicken.
4. Toss the tomatoes, melons, avocadoes and smoked chicken with the basil dressing and serve from a large bowl or on top of a cos lettuce lined plate. Serve slightly off chilled.

Basil vinaigrette

1. In a food processor or blender mix together the vinaigrette and basil. Make the dressing just before serving as the basil will brown if it is allowed to stand and make your salad look rather ugly.

Cooks Tips

Buying avocadoes is not always easy. If you want them for that day look for one that are say ripe for tonight at the greengrocer. Otherwise you tend to see everyone picking them up and squeezing the fruit. This only causes them to become bruised. Best to buy a couple of them at different levels of ripeness and allow them to ripen at home. Give them a slight squeeze at the top of the stalk and if the pressure is yielding the avocado is ripe.