Deliciously sweet with a shot of zing, Prawn and Avocado Salad with Golden Kiwi is a perfect meal for one, two or ten! The honey sweetness of golden kiwi paired with fresh prawns; buttery avocados tossed together with tangy red shallot vinaigrette creates contrast but a delectable balance.
Why I Love Prawn and Avocado Salad with Golden Kiwi
This salad was a delicious surprise for me! Golden kiwi was in season at my local grocer and thought I’d give it a go in a salad.
The sweetness of the golden kiwi paired so well with prawns and avocado. And the tangy red shallot vinaigrette added the zing it needed. It was so refreshing! Exactly what I felt like at lunch.
Prawn and Avocado Salad with Golden Kiwi is definitely a salad worth having on it’s own as a meal. If entertaining, this salad would be a very enjoyable starter to get the night started. And so easy to prepare!
What Is the Difference Between Green and Golden Kiwi?
At quick glance both green and golden kiwi fruit may look the same. But I examined more carefully and they are quite different, even on the outside!
The traditional kiwi has a fuzzy brown skin whilst the modern golden kiwi has a smoother skin with less fuzz.
Once you cut open a golden kiwi you will see where it gets its name. Rather than the usual vibrant green flesh, you see golden yellow flesh flecked with tiny black seeds.
What about flavour? Do they taste the same? No, they are quite different.
Green kiwis definitely have a more tart composition, a tangy sweetness. And compared to the golden kiwi, it has a firmer texture. I do love a good kiwi, especially in summer. Just cut in half and scoop out with a spoon.
However, after trying the golden kiwi I think I have become more partial to the tropical sweetness. Golden kiwi has a softer texture, honey like taste. Definitely worth pairing in kiwi fruit salads where you need to create sweet balance.
What Pairs Well with Golden Kiwi?
Golden kiwi fruits are delicious on its own but also matches perfectly in a variety of recipes. For the best kiwis, choose plump and firm fruit with smooth skin and no wrinkles.
To start with savoury dishes, I would combine golden kiwi with chicken, prawns or crab meat. I find the golden kiwi accentuates the delicate sweet flavours of the protein. Give it a go in a fresh salsa, tangy sauce and of course toss into a delicious salad.
As for sweet matches, so many options too. Can’t go wrong including it on a tropical pavlova or blend it in a healthy smoothie.
You may like some of our dessert fruit salads: Passionfruit and Kiwi Salad with Tangelo Granita and Red and Green Fruit Salad with Vanilla Persian Fairy Floss.
And finally try golden kiwi with cheese! A super easy breakfast – warm toast topped with goats cheese and golden kiwi or entertain with baked brie and kiwi compote. Amazing on what you can do when you go outside of the box with all different pairings.
Avocado in Salads, again?
With every cafe having their own version of smashed avo on toast and green salads with avocado cubes, are we bored yet? Obviously not.
Widely consumed and grown in Central and South American countries as it is very much a part of their daily life, avocado consumption has grown significantly across the globe as well.
With its delicious taste and packed with nutrients, avocado consumption in the United States has tripled since 2000. Whilst in Australia we consumed over 80,000 tonnes in the past year. That is A LOT of green smoothies and smashed avos.
I must admit I do tend to roll my eyes when I see smashed avocado on any cafe menu but at home, I love it.
Personally, I like to keep it simple. Avocado mashed up, spread over on warm sourdough toast with cracked pepper. That’s it. And I am team Hass for sure. The rich, creamy and smooth texture of a Hass avocado is perfect.
The love affair with avocado will only continue to grow around the world, especially with its highly nutritious benefits. And it’s never boring to add it to a salad. Especially this avocado kiwi salad.
How to Make Prawn and Avocado Salad with Golden Kiwi
Prepare Prawns
For this recipe, I have selected to use pre-cooked shelled tiger prawns. Firstly, I love the flavoursome taste of tiger prawns. They are firm but deliciously moist with beautiful red-orange stripes when cooked. Adds great colour to a salad.
Pre-cooked prawn for a salad is perfectly fine as we are not going to cook them again and it definitely saves time.
If I do purchase pre-cooked prawns, I generally only choose to buy them with their shells on. This way the prawns retain their “prawn” flavour more. Does that even make sense? LOL.
For this prawn and avocado salad, remove heads and deshell prawns. Set aside for assembly.
Another random tip – I generally freeze my prawn shells and heads to be used later to make stock for other meals. It depends on how many prawns I’m shelling.
For an Asian salad recipe with prawns or shrimp, this Thai Green Mango Salad with Salty Tamarind Dressing is a real winner in our book!
How to Peel and Cut Golden Kiwi Fruit
Starting with a small sharp knife so we don’t squish the fruit, cut the top and bottoms of golden kiwi fruit.
Then starting from top to bottom, using your knife cut away the skin as close as you can to the flesh. Make sure your knife is following the curves of the fruit. Rotate the fruit until you have removed all the skin.
I’ve seen another method using a spoon to pry in between skin and flesh and rotate the fruit around to remove the skin. I haven’t tried this before but you could give it go!
After you have peeled the fruit, cut into round slices. I then sliced the round slices into half so you up with semi circle wheels. Set aside for assembly.
How To Cut The Avocado
We want bite-sized cubes for this salad. Cut avocado in half with skin on lengthwise. Once you hit the stone, rotate your knife around and make a cut around the pit.
Then place knife down and using your hands, twist and pull the avocado apart.
One half will have the stone which you can remove using a teaspoon to prise it out. Gently run the teaspoon under the pit to pop it out.
Peel skin gently and then place avocado cut side down and cut into cubes. Make sure you give a little squeeze of lemon over the cut avocado to avoid it going brown.
How To Make Prawn and Avocado Salad
Wash and rinse radishes well. Trim the stalks and then slice thinly from top to bottom.
Wash coriander leaves and roughly chop.
How to Make Red Wine Shallot Vinaigrette
A tangy vinaigrette with red shallots to help tie the salad together.
Finely chop red shallots. Then mix all ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and red shallots in a small bowl or shake well in a jar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
How to Assemble the Salad
In a large mixing bowl, place prawns, golden kiwi fruit, radish, avocado and half coriander together.
Add red wine shallot vinaigrette and mix together. If you have super ripe golden kiwi fruit and avocado, make sure you mix gently as they are can easily get mashed together.
Scoop dressed salad into a large serving bowl.
Scatter remaining coriander to serve.
This prawn and avocado salad was perfect for a lunch meal by itself served with crusty bread. The golden kiwi fruit made it refreshingly light but the salad was substantial enough with the prawns.
For entertaining, it will be delicious as an appetizer or alongside a large barbeque feast. Can be easily prepared earlier but don’t dress until serving.
I’m all for throwing ingredients together in a salad and see how it tastes like. Tweak it to your liking. Never be afraid of using sweet fruits in salads. You may be surprised!
If you can’t find golden kiwi or prefer a more tart flavour, you could substitute for green kiwis. It will be less sweet but still refreshing.
That’s all!
More Spring Salad Recipes
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Prawn and Avocado Salad with Golden Kiwi
Ingredients
Salad
- 400 g Tiger prawns, cooked
- 4 gold kiwi
- 2 avocado
- ½ lemon
- 1 bunch radish
- ¼ bunch coriander
Salad Dressing
- 1 red shallot
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
Salad
- Deshell pre-cooked prawns.
- Peel and cut golden kiwi fruit into rounds. Then cut round slices in half.
- Cut avocado in half with skin on and remove pit using teaspoon. Peel skin off and place avocado cut side down. Then cut into cubes, place in a small bowl and squeeze lemon juice to stop the avocado from going brown.
- Wash and rinse radishes well. Trim the stalks and then thinly slice from top to bottom.
- Wash coriander leaves well and roughly chop.
Salad Dressing
- Peel red shallot and chop finely.
- Then mix all ingredients extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and red shallots in a small bowl or shake well in a mason jar.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly
- In a large mixing bowl, place prawns, golden kiwi fruit, radish, avocado and half coriander together. Add red shallot vinaigrette and mix together.
- Scoop dressed salad into a large serving bowl.
- Scatter remaining coriander to serve.
Notes
- Pre-cooked prawns were used in this recipe. You can use raw prawns instead (shelled or de-shelled). Cook them in boiling water for at least 3-4 minutes depending on size. You can tell they are cooked when flesh turns opaque. Remove from hot water and run under cold water for 20 seconds to stop them for further cooking.
- You can substitute golden kiwi for green kiwi if not in season. Try to find more ripe green kiwis as they are more tart in flavour.
- For entertaining, I would cut and prepare all ingredients earlier and then scatter coriander leaves and dress it at the time of serving.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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Chef Mireille
I have hated avocado ever since I was a child and how avocado has taken the world by storm gets on my nerves. Sometimes I go to buy a sandwich and not a single one in the shop does not have avocado UGH! However, it is a healthy fat to include in salads.
But this seafood lover regardless would love this salad omitting the avocado of course! I’ll just add some peanuts for extra protein instead of avocado 🙂
The Devil Wears Salad
LOL! TBH, I don’t eat it because it’s healthy! I eat it because it is sooooo yum! But you’re so right that it is in everything although I have to admit I never really noticed it until you mentioned it!
Brynn McDowell
I absolutely love golden kiwi and this salad is drop dead gorgeous! All those colors, textures and flavors sound just amazing.
The Devil Wears Salad
Thank you so much! Yeah the flavours just pop. Such a great combination!
Belinda
Just follow the recipe last night and that was so yum! All my family love it. Thank you for the sharing and all the good work in your web site. That is absolutely fabulous!
The Devil Wears Salad
Thank you Belinda! We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Lesli Schwartz
Love the combo of all these flavors! Such a delightful salad!
The Devil Wears Salad
Thank you! Prawns and gold kiwi are probably not a common combination but we love it! Something a little different.