There is a certain restaurant in Baltimore that I like to visit for lunch, and nearly all the time I start off with the same dish: avocado toast. It's so light and tasty I can't resist it. I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino I decided I'd try to make it at home, and it turned out to be a bit trickier than I thought.
First of all, it would be hard to find a more healthy and nutritious fruit. Grown on trees, avocados are harvested green and sent to market. The trick is to buy a good one, take it home, and use it when it is at its highpoint.
The avocado we are most likely to encounter is the Hass avocado, named for the California farmer who planted the Mother Tree. This is an oval pebble skinned variety that is medium green initially. Left on a kitchen counter it will start to darken and soften. As soon as it starts to go black, and it is tender to the touch is the time to use it.
For avocado toast, it's important to note what our goal is. We don't want to have an ultra-smooth puréed product. Rather we want it to be both chunky and creamy and filled with flavor. We're not really going for guacamole here.
When your avocado is ready, simply slice it lengthwise all around the middle and then twist the two halves apart. The large pit will stick in one side. Whack the pit with the sharp edge of a kitchen knife, and it will pop right out with a slight tug.
Now you can get to work. Score the meat lengthwise and cross wise, and then pop it out. Working in a bowl, mash the avocado chunks however you want.
Some use a fork; I prefer a potato masher. And now the variations begin.
The recipe I developed goes like this: first, a little sprinkle of salt and a lot of pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, minced shallot and a drizzle of olive oil. Mash it all together, allowing a creaminess to develop. For the final touch, I splash on a few drops of so-called White Balsamic Vinegar. And now it's ready to spread on a slice of multi-grain toast.
How you prepare the toast is up to you. I pour on some olive oil. But you can go Spanish and rub a tomato on the coarse surface of the toast, then rub with a garlic clove. A schmeer of aioli wouldn't be out of place either.
After you have spread your avocado on the toast, you can either stop and enjoy it now, or you can continue to elaborate.
A quick visit to YouTube will turn up dozens of ideas for you. Here are a few that really appealed to me.
Put together a bit of salad made with your favorite greens. Feature radicchio, arugula, basil, dill or cilantro along with finely chopped lettuce. Plop it right on top of the avocado, and maybe top it all off with something like sliced hard-boiled egg or smoked salmon.
Other toppings I discovered were crumbled feta cheese, chopped jalapeno peppers, grilled corn off the cob, chopped fresh tomatoes (not canned!) and even slices of orange or tangerine.
Obviously, you can let your palate be your guide and try any number of combinations. But the basis for everything is having a good recipe for first rate avocado spread done just the way you like it.
