Prepare the red onion. Peel and halve the red onion, then slice it into thin half-moons as fine as you can manage — about 2mm thick. Place the slices in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let them sit for 5 minutes. This tames the sharp, almost spicy bite of raw onion. You'll notice the water turning a faint pink colour and the onion slices becoming slightly translucent at the edges.

Make the dressing. While the onion soaks, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small jar. Screw the lid on tightly and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. The dressing should look emulsified — cloudy and slightly thickened, with no visible separation of oil and vinegar. Set it aside.

Prep the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes (or quarter them if they're large), and dice the cucumber into small cubes about 1cm across. Roughly chop the coriander leaves and tender stems. Drain the red onion slices and pat them dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. You'll see the onions have softened slightly and lost that aggressive raw white colour.

Cut the avocados. Halve each avocado lengthwise around the stone, twist to separate, and remove the stone. Score the flesh in a diamond pattern while it's still in the skin — cut down to the skin but not through it. Then scoop out the cubes with a spoon. They should come out in neat, creamy chunks. If they're mushy, your avocado was too ripe.

Assemble the salad. Place all the prepared ingredients — avocado chunks, tomatoes, cucumber, drained red onion, and coriander — in a large salad bowl. If you're using feta, crumble it over the top now. The colours should be vibrant: deep green avocado, bright red tomatoes, pale green cucumber, and purple-red onion.

Dress and toss. Give the dressing jar one more shake, then drizzle about three-quarters of it over the salad. Use your salad servers to gently toss everything together — fold the ingredients over each other rather than stirring vigorously, as you want to keep the avocado chunks intact. The dressing should lightly coat every piece without pooling at the bottom of the bowl.

Rest and serve. Let the salad sit for 2-3 minutes before serving. This brief rest allows the flavours to meld — you'll notice the vinegar and lemon mellowing the richness of the avocado. Taste and add more dressing, salt, or pepper if needed. The avocado should still be firm but yielding, the onion pleasantly sharp but not overwhelming.