Avocado Mash Crostini with Tomato Relish

In the bread man’s castle there is often such an over-abundance of bread that I’m challenged to find ways to use it.  You can eat just so much toast and so many sandwiches!   This day I was in the mood for some avocado mash on toast.  I eat that often enough when I’m tired of sandwich meat or eggs.  I simply mash the avocado, spread it on the toast, add salt and pepper and devour.  But I wanted pretty little toasts.  Crostini!

Cut circles in the bread and place rounds on a baking sheet.

Sara Lee has some Artisano breads and I wanted to use slices to make circles and toast them.  I used a biscuit cutter and made circles out of the bread.  Did I waste a bit of bread?  Oh yeah, but it was going to waste anyway.  That’s my excuse.  I mean really, I dice loaves up and toast them in the oven to make stuffing often.  I’m trying to be bread-friendly here!

Toast circles in a 400°F oven, turning to brown on both sides.

Back to my bread circles.  I made 5 circles out of white bread and 5 circles out of wheat bread.  My P.S. and I disagree on the health properties in white bread so I made him his wheat bread.  (Although once they were toasted they looked so similar I had to remember which end of the pan was which).  I put them on a sheet pan in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes. I turned them all and gave them another 10 minutes.  The bottoms browned first which surprised me.  I’d never noticed that before.  Or maybe I’d never toasted bread on a metal sheet pan before?  Your oven may vary, you’ll maybe need to watch them and adjust toasting times.

Scoop avocados into a bowl with lime juice and horseradish.. Mash with a pastry cutter or potato masher until small chunks remain.

I scooped the perfectly ripe avocados into a bowl, added some lime juice, ground horseradish, salt and pepper.  I love ground horseradish in salads and dips.  It adds a nice little punch you can’t usually recognize.  I don’t mean the sauce kind, I buy the ground horseradish in a jar in the dairy case.

Stir well and store in covered container in the fridge until used. Best if used within 2-3 hours

I mashed the avocado with a pastry cutter.  It works best for me, but you could use a potato masher if you prefer.  You’ll want it slightly chunky for texture, not super smooth.  When it was mixed I placed the avocado mash into a covered container and placed it in the refrigerator.  It will last a few days, but not a lot.  The avocado mash will being to break down and darken.  This is a make and eat within a day or two kind or recipe.

I used Chico Roma tomatoes from the garden, dicing finely.

I had a handful of Roma tomatoes from our garden pots and diced them finely into a bowl.  I added a tablespoon-like glug of a basil-infused olive oil I like for salads.  You could use regular olive oil with a little fresh or dried basil as a substitute.  Or maybe use any other kind of infused oil you might have on hand.  The recipe begs to be tweaked and enhanced!

Add minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, dried cilantro, salt and pepper. Stir well.

I also added 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and a good sprinkling of black pepper.  I stirred and taste tested my tomato topping and gasped.  I must have salted it twice!  Oh my gosh it was salty!  I was not going to start over.  I ran water into the container, put a lid on it and left a small opening.  I drained the water out, hopefully along with the seasonings.

Refrigerate in a covered container until used. After spreading a layer of avocado on the crostini, place a small spoonful of tomato relish.

Then I started over with the oil, vinegar, cilantro, garlic and black pepper.  I did NOT add salt again, just in case.  I stirred well and ta da!  It was now perfect.  Whew.  Kitchen hack used and crisis averted.  Well maybe it wasn’t that dramatic but it was an annoying detour.  I placed the tomato garnish in a covered container and refrigerated it as well.

Avocado Mash Crostini with Tomato Relish

Just before serving dinner (leftover grilled chicken drumsticks and enhanced stuffing- which I will post later), I spread the avocado mash on my nicely browned crostini, then topped each with a spoonful of tomato garnish.  So, so pretty!  A bit of fine dining served with leftovers!

Avocado Mash Crostini with Tomato Relish

We totally loved these little pieces of deliciousness.  The tomato relish was a nice pop of acid and extra flavors.  They were devoured and we even had avocado mash to spare.    My P.S. had mash on toast for breakfast with slices of fresh garden tomato.  We finished the avocado mash and tomato relish off with dinner the next evening on toast points.  I can attest to the fact the avocado mash is good for at least 24 hours!