Monday 7 March 2011

Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta

Kitchen Play List:    Caro Emerald ~ Scenes From the Cutting Room 
                                                                Floor
                                        (...just can't get enough of this woman! Lol) 

I have just got back from a weekend away celebrating a pal's birthday and this morning I woke up craving something green and good for me. Yes, I do confess, I had a rather indulgent weekend and tried way too many gins on offer...my favourite being my pal F's sister's homemade Sloe Gin...thank goodness I take Milk Thistle to help my liver. lol. A good weekend was had by all and we left F with Birthday Raspberry Pancakes (made for her by My Love) and a huge box of Lemon Cupcakes and a pan of Lemon Drizzle to go with them.... 

So my need to eat green things and help my system recover from the weekend has started this lunchtime with a bowl of Avocados that had finally ripened.  I had found a recipe last week on Vegalicous.org for Avocado Chimichurri  Bruschetta . But as we only have bread on rare occasions unless its in the form of breadcrumbs, I filed it away for future use. Only to get it back out again this morning to make for our lunch. 

As you know I'm still trying to find my Avocado love so I was a little hesitant to have the Chimichurri straight! lol. So I split the mix in half and My Love had the straight half and I added 1/2 cup of cooked chickpeas to mine. You can just see the little beauties on the right hand side piece of bread. It was a nice taste...a clean taste...but I have to confess the chickpeas gave it that little something I needed for it to be a great taste. (I have mentioned my addiction to chickpeas before, haven't I? lol) I also used the tomato garnish as an extra topping which gave it another level of taste. My Love said that it was good to have the tomato on top as a contrast in flavours. The recipe also calls for 1/4 cup of olive oil but next time I will use just 1 tbsp but that is my personal preference. If you try it...let me know what you think? 


Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta  Serves 4 
(recipe post on Vegalicious.org)

2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil (I will use 1 tbsp next time)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 avocados. peeled, pitted and cubed (I processed mine - my preference)
Bread/Gluten Free Bread of choice (I used French baguette)

Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until thoroughly combined, then stir in the herbs. 
Gently toss the avocado cubes into the sauce. 
Spoon the avocado and the sauce onto bread. 

OR

Place the flesh of the avocados into a food processor and pulse until broken down. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl and process together until chunky/smooth. Then spoon onto the bread and serve. I prefer my avocado this way...but that's just my taste. 

Enjoy!