Usually, when I post about anything food related, i write about a restaurant or some place we’ve been on one of our trips. And if I’ve written about a place in DC or say Scotland, I know many of you will never have a chance to see if I know what I’m talking about.

So today, something a bit different, something you can try yourself and see if I’m ‘food reliable’ – one dish: Grilled Avocados.

When Ellen said yesterday she was going to grill avocados, I was skeptical. Hot avocados? Aren’t they always supposed to be cold or at least at room temp?

But she’s a good cook, so I just raised my eyebrows and was sure I made enough spiced chicken and zucchini to ‘cover’ for what I suspected was going to be an experiment that was not up to her usual standard.

Wrong. Again.

Not only was the dish pleasing to the eye, it had a wonderful combination of tastes and was quite different from anything avocado related I had eaten.

Ellen found the ‘recipe’ on one of her favorite food blogs, FOOD52.

Grilled Avocado with Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs

by Minimally Invasive

Editors’ Comments:

I’m an avocado fiend, always on the lookout for more ways to incoporate them into my diet. It was summer and the height of tomato season when I stumbled on this recipe, inspired by a bruschetta picture found on a friend’s blog. But this is barely a recipe, honestly; just use any fresh herbs you have on hand, toss together with tomatoes and some of your favorite nuts, and enjoy. This is an easy appetizer to make when you’re already planning to fire up the grill.

Serves 8

• 4 avocados, halved, cut sides brushed with oil
• 4 small lemons, halved horizontally, cut sides lightly oiled
• 2 handfuls chopped fresh herbs, like parsley, thyme, chives, basil…whatever you like, and the more the merrier
• Good-quality olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 lemon, optional

1. Set up your grill for direct-heat grilling. When the coals are ready, lay the cut side of avocados and lemons on the grate and grill until avocados have grill marks and are heated through, and lemons are lightly charred and caramelized.

2. Chop whatever herbs you have on hand (parsley, thyme, lemon thyme, chives and basil in my case); then mix with some olive oil and salt. Toast nuts and slice some cherry tomatoes. Top the avocado halves with the herbs, sprinkle with nuts and tomatoes, then give the caramelized lemons a good squeeze over the whole mess. (And if you want a brighter taste, add a spritz of fresh lemon juice too.)

Be sure to include the nuts and squeeze the lemon over the ‘whole mess.’

I suspect this dish will become a favorite.

PS – We had one half left over and put it in the icebox last night. I just had it for breakfast. It’s good cold too, tho not quite as good as hot off the grill.