Andy Zambrano - avocado & cucumber salad

Andy Zambrano’s (he/him) fridge is empty: moving out tomorrow empty. There’s a few beers that have been chilling for months, a jar of pickles, and some almond milk. At the time of our interview he stores most of his personal cooking equipment at the cafe where he works. In addition to the cafe, he’s working for other popup/catering companies, including his own popup Comal LA, a vegan Mexican food concept. Since he spends multiple days a week on prep at the cafe and running all over Southern California with popups, he rarely cooks at home. Heading to work without breakfast and figuring it out along the way: “I’m always busy and forget to eat … I’m prepping snacks or tasting a bunch of little things throughout my day.” Today’s recipe is one of his go-to healthy meals for when he’s busy with work, and fits perfectly within the constraints set on his home meals: it’s simple, it’s fast, and it uses things that he can pick up quickly and in season. 

He first made this recipe on a time crunch pulling whatever ingredients he could find from his dad’s fridge. This avocado and cucumber salad is fresh and bright.  Nothing in the recipe requires cooking or marinating – everything is sliced and tossed into the bowl right away, then a squeeze of lime to finish. The avocado thickens and binds the rest of the ingredients, and all the herbs (dill, chives, cilantro) pack in a vibrancy, the edge from the citrus lifts up the bite of the onion, bringing it all together. In addition to being visually beautiful with all of the greens and magenta accents of radish and onion, it’s a sneaky way to show off some knife skills. We eat the salad in his living room filled with artwork and posters from shows/tours, ephemera from his life in the punk scene both as a musician and working at venues. 

Andy’s food is all vegan, and he started cooking for himself when he became vegan at 21, since his parents weren’t cooking vegan dishes at home. In 2020 he bought a taco cart, which he would later pivot from due to the pandemic and not wanting to be boxed in to only making tacos. After a few years he began focusing on other modern concepts with Mexican food. Instead of  trying to replace the qualities of meat, veggies & plant protein are treated as the stars themselves, using a full range of technical skills gained from his culinary school and restaurant experience.