Bringing Back the O(h!) in Avocado Toast

Chances are, if you could pick one food to represent the entire millennial population, you’d probably go for the classic avocado toast — overpriced yet underwhelming, where mashed avocado is spread haphazardly on a slice of sourdough toast and sold for upwards of $7. Now, I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of avocado. It’s green, mushy, and somehow manages to toe the line between bland and sweet. Overall not very impressive, or at least that was what I thought before quarantine hit. 

Stuck in the comfort of my own home (and with a bakery-coffee shop five minutes away), I began experimenting with the fruit I dislike the most. At first, I started simple with the classic avocado on toast, mashing avocado myself and adding sea salt and lemon juice to the mix. While savory when paired with olive-oil-brushed sourdough, it wasn’t enough to make me like the mushy green fruit. Then, I began experimenting with avocados in salads, throwing in mozzarella cheese balls and cherry tomatoes in an attempt to make an avocado caprese salad. Balsamic vinaigrette became a staple in all of my culinary creations, but my pièce de résistance came in the form of making my own guacamole. For the first time, I chopped cilantro, onions, and tomatoes to create the perfect dip for the tortilla chips I had at home, but even then, I still failed to create something that would make me love avocados. 

Enter: the avocado toast from the aforementioned bakery-coffee shop. What began as a snack to accompany my latte spiralled into an avocado toast addiction that led me to spend over $100 on toast alone. 

So I decided to introduce some ways to reinvent avocado toast in hopes of making this millennial staple more palatable for all!

CAPRESE:

One of my all time favorite takes on the avocado toast, this caprese variant combines all my favorite elements of the classic avocado toast with the addictive sourness of balsamic vinegar. Savory yet sweet, sour yet succulent, this recipe takes a slice of sourdough and douses it in garlic olive oil before toasting. Then take mashed avocado and spread it thickly on the bread, add mozzarella cheese balls and cherry tomatoes, and top it off with fresh basil, balsamic glaze, and sea salt with cracked pepper. Make this for the salad lover in your life!

ELOTE:

Elotes, or Mexican street corn, is a staple where I’m from in California and is the perfect blend of spicy, crumbly, and savory. Taking the standard avocado toast and loading it with roasted corn, cotija cheese (an alternative is feta) and dousing it with Tapatio and/or your favorite hot sauce, this is the perfect snack for a fellow capasicinophile! 

PESTO:

If you have pesto sauce lying around from your last attempt at making pasta, this is a quick and simple way to spice up your avocado toast for a five minute meal. Simply smear pesto sauce on top of the smashed avocado, and add other ingredients as desired! I’ve seen everything from sundried tomatoes to bacon to a sunny-side up egg so feel free to experiment with other fruits and veggies!

So next time you’re hungry, take a look at your pantry and you might find that sugar, spice, and slices of bread and avocado can make all the difference. And if all else fails, just put an egg on it!