Heirloom Tomato & Avocado Stacks

This was just beautiful and totally YUM! We served this for The Other Williams' dad on Father's day and it was just beautiful. Now that tomato season is coming this is a great way to try heirloom tomatoes. This was our first time with heirloom tomatoes. We just grabbed what looked neat and colorful and were not disappointed! The dressing was just too perfect. We did modify the recipe, our modifications are noted below.

Serves: 4

Ingredients
Dressing:
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk (we used milk and vinegar)
1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground red pepper

Salad:
3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup very thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 cup diced peeled avocado (about 1 small) (we did slices)
Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation
1. To prepare dressing, combine first 9 ingredients in a small food processor or blender; process 30 seconds or until pureed, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Cover and chill.

2. To prepare salad, slice each tomato crosswise into 4 equal slices (about 1/2 inch thick). Place 1 tomato slice on each of 4 salad plates; sprinkle slices evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top each serving with a few onion pieces and about 1 tablespoon avocado. Repeat layers 3 times, ending with avocado. Drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over each serving; sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.

Cooking Light, JUNE 2008