I’ve been thinking a lot about avocados —- well, you know, it is a time of isolation when our thoughts can run amok!!!! Why avocados? I don’t really know but I would guess it is because during this extraordinary time people have taken to cooking and blogging and social mediaing about their favorite or, often, most challenging dishes. Among the top 2 have been avocado toasts and sourdough bread. I have never done an avocado book but I have done a couple of classic bread books – The French Culinary Institute’s Fundamentals of Bread Baking and Master Baker Lionel Vatinet’s A Passion for Bread and you would think that I would have, by now, mastered not only sourdough bread but tons of others. Instead I just make my own traditional white batter bread that my mom and probably my grandmother made. So, that leaves avocados.
Even when I was a wee one, avocados were a favorite. Before I had teeth, my mom would slather a saltine with mashed avocado as a treat. I’m told I would lick off the avocado and hand the cracker back for more until the cracker folded…. I still love avocado slather on a saltine. However, when our Aussie friends introduced us to their national breakfast dish, avocado toast, I took to it like that proverbial duck to water. There are so many versions that it is hard to keep an up-to-date list but my favorite remains any that combine avocado, tomato and/or olives.
Another favorite is individual nacho-like avocado chips. All you need is a fresh tortilla chip (I lie, you can use bagged tortilla chips.), mashed, well-seasoned avocado, some cooked chicken or pork, grated cheese and some kind of zesty salsa/sauce to drizzle as you snack. A perfect nosh with a chilled margarita!
A note on the latter – fresh tortilla chips are so so so so so much better than packaged chips. And, easy to make. Cut small corn tortillas into triangles or even break them into random pieces. Season with a little oil and salt, tossing to coat. You can add some ground cumin, cayenne or chili powder if you like. Lay them out in a single layer on baking sheets and bake at 300°F, tossing and turning occasionally, until they are crisp and lightly colored. They are addictive!
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