Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mama’s out there! I can’t wait to hang out with my Mom this afternoon. Hopefully, we will do some gardening (weather dependent), maybe watch some golf and, hang with our fur babies. I have some ribs smoking on my Traeger to finish off on the grill later, some orzo pasta salad and maybe some corn on the cob. Who knows but it will be a fun day ahead!
I know that Avocado Toast is a “trendy” food to write about now but there are a couple reasons why I decided to talk about it this weekend. A few weeks back while I was working at Uncorked Kitchen, I was chatting with a guest about favorite breakfast foods and the discussion of Avocado toast came up. She was telling me that she just paid $9 for one at breakfast. I seriously about choked with the thought of paying that much for something that you can make at home for practically nothing! (Follow along here because this will tie into the end story). Anyway, that was reason one.
Reason two, I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and I found this incredible bread (picture below). I bought it for the sole purpose of making avocado toast. When you make a proper avocado toast, you should have really good hefty bread. One that can hold all the goodies but also lends its hand in the flavor department. In Australia, (where avo toast became popular), they use good rye bread. Rye bread is hard to find in my neck of the woods so this wheat bread worked out great.
So last weekend my friend from Australia was in town and we got on the subject of avocado toast. First off, it’s not called “avocado toast”, it’s actually called smashed avocado on toast or in Aussie language “smashed avo on toast”. He made it very clear that us “Americans” are saying it all wrong (haha). He then proceeded to tell me the story (this leads back to the $9 toast), that ended up being a political discussion that was aimed to dis the millennials. A real estate developer in Australia made a comment implying that millennials can’t afford to buy a house because they are spending $40 a day on fancy toast and coffees. I guess this stirred up a lot of controversies but my friend did confirm that smashed avocado on toast does cost between $18-$22 over there (about $15-$17 over here). That’s insane. Makes the $9 avocado toast sound pretty good.
So here is my version of smashed avocado on toast. I pack mine full of bacon, shallots, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and queso fresco cheese. It’s delicious and “Australian” approved. I got the thumbs up when he said: “that my toast is better than anything that you could get down under”. That’s a huge compliment so I’ll take it! 🙂
Enjoy!
Smashed Avocado on Toast
Ingredients
- 1 large Avocado, about 1 cup smashed
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 2 slices good quality whole wheat bread
- 1 clove garlic, left whole
Additional Ingredients for Serving
- crumbled queso fresco or cojita cheese
- minced fresh cilantro
- your favorite hot sauce
Instructions
To Make the Toast
- Toast the bread to a crispy but not burned brown. I put my toast under the broiler because it was too big for the toaster. If doing under the broiler, make sure you toast both sides.
- When the toast is hot out of the cooking device, rub it generously on both sides with garlic. Set aside.
To Make the Smashed Avocado
- For this recipe, it's easiest to place 2 strips of bacon on a paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes or until the bacon is crispy but not burned. Remove, crumble and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the avocado, tomatoes, shallots, bacon, salt, and pepper.
- Put about 1/2 cup of the smashed avocado or so on each piece of toast and top with the cheese, cilantro and hot sauce if desired.
Mar says
Very good idea for a light dinner or for a starter. What about adding iberian bellota ham? It is to die for. Congratulations for the recipe.
Jennifer Anno says
This is my new favorite Heather creation!!!i love that it can be tossed together so quickly!!!!
One day I didn’t have the room in my nutrition monitoring for more bread so I sliced a huge beefstake tomato and ate it on that!!
Sooooooooo super delicious
Jen
cookingintherockies says
Thanks Jenny! That’s a great idea, but I love my bread!! haha!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
It definitely is a trendy dish but you have taken it to new heights.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted…New England Post Cards / Favorite Photos
cookingintherockies says
Thanks Karen! 🙂
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
Thanks for the heads up about that toast at Trader Joe’s. I’ll have to pick some up next time I’m there. And I love all of your additions to that smashed avocado.
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) recently posted…Best Burger Recipes for Father’s Day
cookingintherockies says
Worth the trip to TJ for the bread! Delish!