Avocado Salad with Strawberries and Polenta Croutons

This light, very fresh salad is like a reminder of summer: bright summer colors, aroma and taste. Small, almost Italian, "summer" on the winter festive table will please everyone.

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe avocados
• 400 g strawberries
• 6-8 crunchy cucumbers
• 3 sprigs of mint
• 50 g toasted pine nuts
• 5 tbsp. l. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. l. balsamic vinegar
• salt, freshly ground black pepper
• 100 g cereal for finely ground polenta
• 500 ml vegetable stock or water
• 3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• 1 tsp a mixture of dried italian herbs

Directions

1. For the croutons, crush, peel and chop the garlic. Crush it in a mortar along with dried herbs and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Pour the stock or water into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly, pour in the corn grits in a thin stream. Add the mortar mixture and cook, stirring all the time, until you have a fairly thick homogeneous porridge that lags behind the sides of the pan.
3. Place the polenta on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment, flatten and cool. Then cut into triangles, drizzle with oil and fry in a pan or oven until golden brown.
4. Remove the stalks from the strawberries, cut the berries into 2-6 pieces, depending on the size. Cut the cucumbers into slices.
5. Remove the mint leaves from the sprig, stack on top of each other, roll into a roll and cut very thinly. Cut the avocado into neat wedges.
6. Mix oil with vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix avocados, cucumbers, strawberries and arugula, season, put on a dish, top with croutons, sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately