Avocado Toast

Avocado toast:

We had this at a local restaurant and had to recreate it. The trick seems to be in the lemon zest to really add that brilliant lemon flavor!

Ingredients:

1 Large Avocado
2 Slices of bread
1 Medium Lemon
1 Radish
1 Bunch Sprouts (Radish or Sunflower)
1 Tablespoon oil (Walnut, sunflower or olive)
pinch salt

Directions:

1) Toast 2 pieces of bread 

2) Remove the avocado from skin and place into a large bowl 

3) Zest the lemon and add zest to the bowl

4) Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon into the bowl 

5) Add oil and salt 

6) Mash the avocado and other ingredients into a thick paste 

7) Spread the paste onto the toast (which should be done by now)

8) Cut radish into thin slices and place on top of the avocado 

9) Place the bunch of sprouts on top of the radish slice

10) squeeze the other 1/2 of the lemon on top of the sprouts 

11) Optional: drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil onto the sprouts 

What we liked:

Tasty and easy to make!

What we didn't like:

Really dependent on the goodness of the avocado!

What Kaspian thought about it:

Ew!

Next time:

Sunflower sprouts and sunflower oil!

Pork Sliders with Smashed Avocado

These were really good. We did not have slider buns, only kaiser buns, so we made like pork burgers. They were different. Pretty good for what they were. The avocado was really good. We used butter instead of cooking oil when we grilled it and we grilled it on a real grill as we do not have a grill pan.
It's a fairly simple recipe, good for a Saturday lunch. Wouldn't say that it was great - beef burgers are definitely better, but it was fun to try it! We also used a lot more cheese, and just as cheese slices since we were grilling on a real grill anyways.
Here is the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pork-sliders-smashed-avocado

Close up!

Ready meat patty with cheese 

Before avocado, lettuce, and tomato were added

Raw meat patties

Ingredients:

4 kaiser rolls, halved 

2 tablespoons butter

12 ounces ground pork

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

4 thick slices Monterey Jack cheese

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 ripe peeled avocado

1 ripe tomatoe, sliced

4 lettuce leaves

sliced pickles

Directions:

1. Heat a grill to medium-high heat. We used a gas grill

2. Combine pork, parsley, salt, and garlic powder in a medium bowl, gently mixing with hands. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/4 to 1/2-inch-thick patty. Lightly coat both sides of patties with butter - about 1/2 tbsp on each side.

3. Place on grill, cook 4 minutes (per side) on medium high heat on the center grill. Turn patties over; top patties evenly with cheese. Cook 4 minutes.

4. Lightly coat cut sides of buns with butter (not necessary - we didn't do this). Place buns, cut sides down, on grill; cook 1 minute or until lightly toasted.

5. Combine lemon juice and avocado in a bowl; mash avocado with a fork, and stir to combine. Spread avocado mixture evenly over bottom halves of buns. Place 1 patty on each bottom bun. Top each with 1 tomato slice and 1 lettuce leaf. Top with top halves of buns. Serve immediately.

What we liked:

Fairly quick and easy lunch. The avocado was good. Pretty light meal. Nothing really spectacular though.

What we didn't like:

Meat was a little bland. We would spice it more usually.

What Kaspian thought about it:

He just ate the Kaiser bread and pickles. 

Next time:

Spice the pork differently. Parsley was really good with it, but a lot more garlic and onions and black pepper should be added. Perhaps a little bit of cumin would give it a nice little spice.