Just like Rosé, Avocado Toast has been all the rage lately. Is it worthy of all the hype it has received? Absolutely! For starters, who doesn't like a classic comfort food like toast? Nothing is more satisfying than a nice slice of delicious bread that has been warmed and slightly crisped in the oven or toaster. Toast is such a classic favorite that restaurants have even been opened, like this one, to serve only toast-based entrées with a variety of toppings.
Avocado would have to be one of my favorite toast toppings. The addition of avocado and little seasoning to toast really does create a marriage of the most delicious and satisfying flavors. However, with all that is wonderful about Avocado toast, I do have one issue with it- the presentation. While the presentation has never inhibited my desire to eat a piece of avocado toast, it would be nice to see this delicious dish served in a way that didn't involve mashing the avocados to resemble (dare I say it)…baby food!
I got the idea for this post after enjoying my first ever piece of pretty avocado toast, while exploring the Ferry Building during my recent trip to San Francisco. The presentation was so simple, but oh how it made avocado toast look infinitely more appetizing. In addition, the pretty avocado was served on a very rustic piece of toast, which gave it very gourmet vibe. I knew exactly how I was going to recreate this dish with my own spin, there was just one major hiccup that got in the way this past week.
I broke my foot last weekend and since we live on the top floor of a 3 floor walk up, I have been housebound. Suffice it to say, I wasn't going to let my injury interrupt my posting schedule. I still wanted to create this "Chic & Tasty Avocado Toast" post, but needed to get creative with the bread since I was unable to go on a shopping search for pre-made rustic rolls. It then occurred to me that I had all of the ingredients to make rustic ciabatta bread at home.
While the process for making ciabatta bread is time intensive, it certainly is not labor intensive and the results are delicious! From one batch of dough I was able to make both a loaf and 8 small rolls/4 big rolls (pictured above). My version of avocado toast works well on both loaf slices and rolls, but for this post I opted for rolls because the shape perfectly fit my fanned out piece of avocado. Here is how I went about creating a chic twist on this popular dish.
Ingredients
- Ciabatta Bread (Rolls or Loaf)
- Avocados
- Olive Oil (Spray or Bottle)
- Fresh Clove of Garlic (cut in half)
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Lemon
- Kosher Salt or Flaked Sea Salt
- Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees fahrenheit
- Rub the top of each slice of bread with the freshly cut side of the garlic clove
- Then brush the top of each slice of bread lightly with olive oil and sprinkle each slice lightly with salt (*Note- you can also use a spray olive oil instead of brushing bottled olive oil to save time)
- Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until tops are golden brown
- While the bread is toasting, slice the avocados in half, lengthwise, and remove the pit
- Take each half and carefully peel the skin off of the exterior (*If the avocado is ripe, the skin should peel off without any resistance)
- Slice lengthwise strips in the avocado half while leaving the top 1/4-1/2in of the avocado still in tact
- Fan the avocado out and place on top of the toasted ciabatta bread
- Squeeze the juice of fresh lemon wedge on top of the avocado to keep it from browning. The lemon juice will also brighten the overall flavor of the dish.
- Sprinkle chili flakes on top of avocado
- Garnish with salt and fresh cracked pepper
