When we were in Seattle last month we went to one of our favorite restaurants with some of our favorite friends and had one of my new favorite appetizers. Oh, and we happened to take their boat there… and did I mention that we dropped our kids off to eat at the pizza place across the street so we enjoyed a kid free dinner?? Yeah, it was pretty much the perfect night. So of course when we came back from our trip I was on a mission to re-create that favorite appetizer….I think this is a pretty close match to the real deal!
I fell in love with this appetizer before I even tasted it. When I saw grilled avocado on the menu it was love at first sight! If you’ve never grilled an avocado before, now is your opportunity. Grilling an avocado and serving it warm adds a whole new dimension to one of my favorite foods ever. It’s as simple as it looks, just drizzle a bit of avocado oil or olive oil over the fleshy part of an avocado and sear in a grill pan or bbq over medium-high heat until deep char marks appear. That’s it!
The grilled avocado was served with these unbelievable pickled mini sweet bell peppers and jalapeños . The combo of the smokey charred avocado and the pickled peppers and jalapeños is amazing and a combo I never would have come up with on my own. Pickling anything is super easy…you literally chop your veggies up, add them to a mason jar, boil equal parts white vinegar and water and bit of granulated sugar, pour it over the veggies and put the lid on the top. After about 20 minutes you have successfully pickled your veggies. Store them in the fridge for up to 2 months and they will continue to get even better.
This appetizer is served up somewhat deconstructed with the grilled avocado still in the skin, pickled peppers and jalapeños thrown all around the plate, a handful of roasted and salted pepitas and shaved manchego cheese. You can drizzle a bit of chile oil, olive oil, chalula or crema over the top to finish things off or just leave it as is. That’s it, simple and delicious!!
- 1 avocado, halved
- 1 tsp avocado oil - can use olive oil
- ¼ C pickled peppers and jalapenos (see below)
- 1 Tbsp shaved manchego cheese
- 1 Tbsp toasted and salted pepitas
- 10 mini sweet bell peppers
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 clove garlic, smashed
- 1 C water
- 1 C white vinegar
- ¼ C granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- Cut stems off of bell peppers, cut in half down the middle and roughly cut into large segments. Rinse peppers pulling off membranes and seeds. Place peppers in a large mason jar or heat proof container with lid.
- Cut the tops off of jalapenos and slice thin. Rinse slices under cold water and remove seeds. Place jalapeno slices with the peppers in the mason jar. Add smashed garlic clove to the mason jar as well.
- In a medium saucepan add water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Immediately pour over peppers and cover with lid.
- Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 months.
- Heat a bbq or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle avocado oil over the fleshy side of the avocado. Grill avocado for approx 3 minutes until deep grill marks appear. Remove from heat.
- On a serving plate arrange avocados, place pickled peppers and jalapenos around avocados. Sprinkle with shaved manchego and pepitas. Drizzle with any optional add-ons.
Nicole says
This is SO good!
Kari & Courtney says
Right?? The best!!