Winter Avocado Toast

I grew up in California and this was a regular food for us, and fairly inexpensive during avocado season. Nowadays avocado time is pretty much anytime, thanks to trade agreements and the fact that avocados can be shipped easily, so here's my winter take on something that used to be a spring and summertime treat. One slice uses my take on shichimi togarashi and crisp chili threads, the other is simple za'atar, both excellent with in-season lemon.

Author

Christian Leue

Servings

1

Category

Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 small ripe avocado‡
• Fleur de sel, or your favorite salt
• 1 fresh lemon
• 1 slice of bread, toasted and cut in half (I prefer sourdough)
• Autre Shichimi (see substitutes below)*
• Chili threads
• Za'atar

Directions

1. Pit and peel the avocado and chop it roughly on a cutting board. Season with a pinch or two of fleur de sel, which will stay nicely crunchy, and a small squeeze of lemon. Mix on the board with a fork, mashing lightly like you're making guacamole. I prefer this to just mashing avocado onto the bread as you get a better distribution of flavors and textures, and can more evenly season the avocado.°
2. Divide the avocado between the two slices of toast and top one with Autre Shichimi and chili threads, and one with Za'atar. Serve with more fresh lemon.