Winner Dinner: Grilled Bread with Avocado

This may be my most requested recipe, which is funny because I’m not even sure it qualifies as a recipe. This is food at its most simple: few ingredients, minimal prep, and almost no actual cooking. But I think simple food is usually the best and that is definitely the case with avocado bread (as we call it in our house).

Now, you might be wondering about this as a dinner. When we first started making this, we’d do it as a side, but then we realized we didn’t want to eat anything else when we were eating this. If you cut your bread thick and pile on the avocado, you’ll be satisfied. But if you want a little more balanced meal, add a simple salad or some form of grilled meat (promise you really don't need it...)

A couple tips:

Use a good loaf of crusty bread (I like La Brea, which is usually available in grocery stores). This will ensure a nice charred outside and soft inside.

To cut avocados, slice in half lengthwise. Take out the pit. Then score each side in little cubes. Use a spoon to scope the flesh right into the bowl.

Mash the avocado with a fork. You want a chunky texture.

Grilling the bread really is key to this dish. If you don’t have a grill, use the broiler, but otherwise it’s worth firing up your grill (even in a downpour...hello, Seattle winter). You want the bread to have some char...don’t take it off too soon!

YUM.

Ingredients
1 loaf of good crusty bread
2 ripe avocados
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon or lime juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat your grill to 500 degrees.

Cut the bread into thick slices. Drizzle both sides with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt.

To cut avocados, slice in half lengthwise. Take out the pit. Then score each side in little cubes. Use a spoon to scope the flesh right into medium bowl. Add the lemon or lime juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the red pepper flakes, and some salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until combined but still chunky. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Grill the bread, about 1 minute per side. Make sure it’s nice and charred on the outside. Take the bread off the grill and rub each piece with the garlic clove (this step is optional, but add a nice flavor layer to the dish). Top each piece of bread with avocado.

Serves 2-4. Can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowed.

Get the printable recipe.

Winner, Winner, Easy Dinner: Carrot-Caraway Soup

Weeknight dinners can be rough. Plan something too ambitious and you end up chopping, stirring, and straining way past dinnertime. Not good if you’re someone like me who gets angry when hungry (sidenote: when I’m being mean, my husband’s first question is “when did you eat last?”). Don’t plan enough and you end up eating something you really wish you hadn’t (in my case, my toddler’s partly congealed cheesy noodles).

I love the idea of cooking weeknight dinners, but they need to be easy enough to execute quickly (preferably within the length of a 22-minute cartoon), delicious enough to make it worth the effort, and nutritious enough to leave plenty of mental wiggle room for dessert. With that in mind, we’ll be bringing you easy dinner recipes in our Winner, Winner, Easy Dinner series.

Up first: a silky soup featuring the humble carrot.

Carrot-Caraway Soup
Caraway is an old-fashioned flavor that’s making a comeback. It adds something unique to this vitamin-packed soup.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1½ pounds carrots (about 6 big carrots), peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups chicken stock
Sour cream and dill for garnish (optional)

Directions
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and shallot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrots and cook until softened, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the caraway seeds and salt and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer until carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Puree the soup either in a blender (caution: hot soup expands when blending...start your blender on a low speed and hold the lid with a towel) or with an immersion blender in the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a little dill.

Serves 4.

Get the printable recipe.

Recipe adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast, Easy, Fresh