BLT Stacked Salad with Avocado Mayo

“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.” Laurie Colwin

Are juicy garden tomatoes making their long anticipated appearance where you live?  Then happy days are here again!  This stacked BLT napoleon is a fun take on the beloved sandwich with the tomato taking the starring role.  Fancy enough for a dinner party appetizer or an everyday lunch, it has everything you love in a BLT, in a fun presentation.  Minus the bread, it is a low carb winner.  So good,  I promise you won’t miss the bread.

• Servings: 1
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• 1 ripe beefsteak type tomato
• 3 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of classic guacamole
• salt and pepper
• About 3/4 cup of shredded lettuce( I used garden grown romaine which had soft leaves like Bibb lettuce;  you want a pliable lettuce so your stack doesn’t tumble apart!)
• fresh basil leaves, for serving
• Balsamic vinegar, for serving

1. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the tomato so it will sit flat in a serving plate and discard.  Slice the tomato horizontally in 5 thick slices and keep the slices in the order in which you sliced them since you will be reconstructing the tomato.
2. Mix the mayo with the guacamole in a small bowl.
3. Assembly:  Place the bottom slice of tomato in the center of a plate.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a dollop of the mayo-avocado mixture in the center of the tomato.  Sprinkle with a quarter of the bacon and top with a quarter of the lettuce.  Add the next slice of tomato and repeat 3 more times. Top with the final top slice of the tomato.  Conceal the tomato stem with a sprig of basil.  Spinkle the plate with a few basil leaves, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a few bacon sprinkles.  Serve with a sharp knife and fork.