Starting the Morning Off Right - Avocado Toast

Usually my breakfasts consist of simple offerings like cereal, yogurt with granola and fruit, or a toasted bagel with butter. But every so often, Laurie and I break out the cookware and make breakfast for ourselves. One of our favorite quick and healthy day-starters is avocado toast. Read on to see how to make this tasty treat for yourself!

Photo by Laurie Geis

I love anything with avocados in it. Smash them up and mix in some lime juice and tomatillo sauce to make guacamole and it only gets better from there! Every so often when Laurie and I go out for breakfast, Laurie will order avocado toast if it's on the menu. It's usually fantastic - nicely crisped toast, topped with sliced and smashed avocados, some hot red peppers, and a perfectly fried egg. We both love the dish so much that we decided to try and recreate the dish at home.

You need to get three things right in order for this dish to work. First, you need a firm, slightly dense bread that’s toasted to perfection which means light brown on the outside but still a bit chewy on the inside – a nice sourdough loaf is the perfect bread for this dish.

Next, you need the perfect avocados to create an avocado mash that has the right mix of chunk, smash, and zing to it. Medium Hass avocados work best here – pick ones that have just the slightest give when you press on them. More firm is much better than softer here. The perfect mash will have plenty of nice big chunks along with smashed pieces as well. We add kosher salt and just a bit of tomatillo sauce to brighten up the avocado mash and give it a bit of spice.

Finally, you need a perfectly fried egg to put on top. That means an egg cooked sunny side up or over medium with a runny yolk that becomes part of each bite you take! Oh, and some really good bacon on the side if you want to splurge a bit – our all-time favorite is Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon (you can find it at Whole Foods and other gourmet grocery stores).

Best of all, this dish is quick and easy to make – you can put it all together in about 20 minutes to enjoy a hearty but healthy breakfast to start your day! Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Avocado Toast (serves 2)

Really fresh ingredients are the key to making this simple and healthy breakfast dish shine. Pick slightly ripe but smaller avocados, along with a freshly baked loaf of firm hearty bread. While you can make the avocado smash ahead of time, it’s best if made right before you eat it!

Ingredients

2 medium Hass avocados

2 tbsp. jarred tomatillo sauce (we like Sabor Mexicano Medium Home-Made Salsa Verde)

2 large slices of freshly baked bread (pick a firmer, denser bread like sourdough or Italian loaf), sliced about ½ inch thick and toasted to a light golden brown

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. butter

Kosher salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

First, make the avocado smash. Pit and peel both avocados. Place three halves of avocado in a bowl and smash with the back of a fork, making sure to keep some large chunks in the smash. Add the tomatillo sauce and a pinch of kosher salt and combine with the fork. Take the last half of avocado and cut into thin slices (about 1/8 of an inch thick) – sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and set aside.

While the bread is toasting, heat the butter in a medium-sized non-stick pan over medium heat until sizzling. Crack the two eggs into the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook sunny side up or over medium, just until the yolk is slightly set and the whites are fully cooked.

Lastly, assemble the toasts. Spread the avocado smash on the toast and top with a few slices of avocado. Top with the fried egg and enjoy with hot sauce and bacon on the side!