Inspired by this Ask Metafilter thread and the sandwich combining avocado with honey mustard that was described therein, tonight I made some avocado sandwiches of my own. We ate them standing up in the kitchen, making adjustments as we went: open-faced, because when you use as much avocado as we wanted to, closed-face versions just slide around; an extra sprinkle of salt; slivered red onions to gild the lily.
Like salads, most sandwiches don't really call for recipes, just descriptions. To make these, take a baguette and split it lengthwise, parallel to the table. Cut the resulting halves into pieces of whatever size suits you. Next, generously butter the cut sides of the bread with nice, soft salted butter. Now apply a good helping of avocado, mashing it slightly into the bread. Because the base of your sandwich is all crust, it will stand up to the pressure with no trouble. Sprinkle a little salt over the avocado and then add a generous (a theme with this sandwich) coating of honey mustard, which you have made by mixing equalish quanities of dijon mustard and honey.
This is very good as it is. But after we'd tried it, Snark said, "Is there any one ingredient that would make this even better?" That is how we wound up adding red onions, and also how I wound up eating quite a bit more than I had planned. In fact, if we hadn't used up all of our ripe avocado I would be eating even more right this minute.
"Is there any one ingredient that would make this even better?"
So. Clearly, you haven't yet tried this sandwich topped with freshly made, still warm onion jam.
Yeah, well, you should.
An avocado sandwich I invented in a moment of dire necessity one bare-cupboarded evening: whole wheat toast spread with avocado, sprinkled with cumin, oregano, and crumbled walnuts, drizzled with olive oil and briefly broiled. That's a great sandwich, too.
Posted by: Elsa | 07/06/2008 at 06:26 AM
this sandwich topped with freshly made, still warm onion jam.
*moan*
Yeah, well, you should.
How very right you are.
Posted by: redfox | 07/06/2008 at 06:52 AM
Mmm. And that looks like some really nice bread, too.
Posted by: Lindy (a/k/a "Mum") | 07/06/2008 at 11:48 PM
Indeed, not bad at all. It is from the local, awesomely named "ZOSS THE SWISS BAKER".
Posted by: redfox | 07/09/2008 at 02:32 AM
Oh, you're back and posting. How very lovely! ^__^ I do think that onion jam sounds marvelous with it - I really must try to make some at some point.
Posted by: kyrias | 07/13/2008 at 06:29 PM
redfox, maybe this perfectly repeatable sandwich will tempt you to participate in my upcoming Sandwich Party? I hope so!
Posted by: Elsa | 07/14/2008 at 02:00 AM
my all time favorite:
rye
honey mustard
onion jam
sharp greens
avocado
either havarti or chicken
grilled.
Posted by: GSG | 07/15/2008 at 11:48 PM
Kyrias: You really should; almost all of the labor is just puttering around doing something else while it cooks, and the results are fantastic.
Elsa: I might just! (In the spirit of complete frankness, I confess that I might just forget, too, but I'll try not to.)
GSG: Mm, that does sound good. In the past, I've worried about grilling sandwiches that involve avocado, for fear that it would break down in some unappealing way. Should I get over my concern?
Posted by: redfox | 07/16/2008 at 04:18 AM
If you press and grill til the bread is crisping and the cheese melts, and if the onion jam was already warm, the cheese will melt, and the avocado will get a little slippery. I rather enjoy the subtle change, it isnt unpleasant to my taste.
If you try it and don't like the new texture, you might grill the sandwich, then break it open and insert the avocado. I have never been tempted to do this though.
I have never mashed my avocado, so that will be a new detail for me.
Posted by: GSG | 07/16/2008 at 04:32 AM
Just a reminder: the Sandwich Party starts Friday (that's tomorrow in my time zone), and runs through the weekend. If you do post an entry, drop me a comment here. Hope you have time to play along!
Posted by: Elsa | 07/25/2008 at 05:41 AM