Screw Avocado Toast. Here’s the Real Avocado Breakfast Treat
Marry the green good stuff with eggs to create a healthy breakfast with near-gourmet flavor
If food be the music of love, chow down!
When I first came across the notion of Avocado Toast, my immediate thought was, yeah, okay, but…. I was already a devotee of something with avocado for the first repast of the day that is far better plus tastier to my buds: Baked avocado and eggs. It’s a good bit dietarily superior to simple avocado spread on toast. And delicious, plus relatively quick, easy and budget conscious.
The first place I encountered Avocado Toast was at a hoity-toity popular breakfast/brunch spot in downtown Austin, TX (where the hoity-toity and the hoi polloi go to party hearty). Admittedly, their take on it is a big step up from eateries that simply serve basic toast spread with avocado, and sounds appealing: two poached eggs atop the toast with pepitas, urfa chili, radish, smoked salt and garlic oil, with mixed greens on the side. The cost of all the foodstuff in that menu item is maybe – I’m being generous here – $2.50 or so. The price is $15. That works out to a 500 percent markup. I suspect that somewhere in that $12.50 above food cost is a pretentious tax.
For breakfast at home – the first meal of the day may not exactly be the most important one, but eating a good breakfast has its many health benefits – I prefer something fairly fast and simple to prepare. I have no witty name for my avocado and eggs morning meal that I first stumbled upon online and make about once a week (suggestions welcome; just hit the comments button below). I just know it’s good.
Ingredients
1 Whole Near-Ripe Avocado
2 Eggs (large or jumbo better)
A smidgeon of Olive Oil
Seasoning to preferences
Preparation (single serving)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Slice the avocado in half lengthwise. Gently twist the two halves in opposite directions to separate them.
Place the halves sliced-side up in a small, flat-bottom oven-safe dish. (I use a glass mini-loaf pan.) Make sure the avocado halves are level with the dish bottom. Occasionally you may have to slice the bottom of an avocado to assure that it’s level.
Brush olive oil over the top and pit hole.
Crack open the eggs just above the avocado halves so the yolk fills the pit hole.
Season to your tastes.
Bake for about 18 minutes; more if you prefer your yolks more firm than runny.
Voila! If you like, you can add other ingredients. Maybe some grated or thinly-sliced bits of cheese. Or add some of the extras in the restaurant list above; I think placing a small slice of radish in the pit hole before cracking the egg into it could yield interesting results.
The way I cook, especially if a dish might become a regular, is to master the basics and then start playing with the recipe. If it’s a staple, this keeps it from getting boring. But I’ve been eating this basic avocado and eggs dish regularly for a number of years now and haven’t grown tired of it just as is. But as I write up this recipe, I am already thinking of variations I may soon try like sprinkling diced black olives over it, or perhaps small chopped strips of salmon, herring or chicken (wisely almost or fully cooked for both safety reasons and because the oven time won’t fully cook them). The recipe awaits your imagination.
I eat the finished meal right out of the pan. You can transfer the avocado to a plate, but don’t forget to also scrape out the baked egg whites from the bottom of the pan. It’s as tasty as any egg whites I’ve ever enjoyed.
I’ve been eating this fare with a fork. But the last few times I ate it, as I try to scoop out all the delectable baked avocado from the inside skin, I’ve thought maybe I should try a spoon.
Keep reading Echoes From the Margins for more recipes and tips and raves about gustatory pleasures and culinary treats.