Grilled Avocado Salad

“How fun is it to test out new recipes?  Sometimes it works and sometimes it just doesn’t stand a chance.  Grilled Avocado..it almost sounds like an oxymoron.  I mean how dare I try and mess with the texture of this lovely species of a fruit. (BTW – it was only recently that I found out from my 5 year old that it wasn’t a vegetable; she had learned that in school!) I mean avocado and I have a tremendous history.  It gets chopped into my salads, spread onto my sandwiches and scooped up by my chips as the star in the guacamole.  But, I had heard of people grilling it summer after summer and needed to see for myself what all of the fuss was about.  Well, let me start by saying that with a touch of olive oil and lime juice flashed on that hot grill for a couple minutes and I was stunned.  I still recognized that creamy inside, but the heat created a soft crust which was jaw-dropping.  Oh, this is a true wonderful twist that you are going to love.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado peeled and pitted
• 2 small or 1 large English cucumber sliced into rounds
• juice of 1 lime
• zest of 1 lime (Use a micro-plane to grate the lime)
• red onion sliced thinly optional
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil + plus more for drizzling
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Ground pepper to taste

Directions

1.)  Heat grill or grill pan over medium heat. (If using grill pan use oil to heat the pan, if using outdoor grill then drizzle a tablespoon of the olive oil all over avocado before placing on grill)
2.)  Slice avocado into 8 slices.

3.)  Using tongs delicately place avocado on grill and heat until grill marks appear then flip.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes be careful not to manipulate avocado too much or else it will fall apart.

4.)  Squeeze 1/2 of the lime, 1/4 teaspoon salt & ground pepper all over avocado before removing from grill.
5.)  In a medium sized bowl toss together tomato, cucumber, onion, olive oil, remaining salt, ground pepper and lime zest.
6.)  Plate salad onto small four plates and arrange two slices of the grilled avocado on top.
7.)  Squeeze remaining half of lime on salad and Serve!

*I like to garnish each plate with a slice of lime. Whenever possible use a key ingredient on the plate to garnish with.

Serves 4