Grilled & Smashed Avocado Pico de Gallo

OK OK so I’m stealing this recipe.  From myself.  Sort of.

I wish I wasn’t completely crazy and could remember where I get my inspiration from for the grilling part of this guac, but unfortunately the baby ate my brain while I was pregnant and it still hasn’t grown back yet.  Word on the street is that it’s not going to come back…which could be a real problem.  Good thing I’ve recorded my life and recipes on this blog for that very reason – to remind myself who I am when I completely lose my memory.

 

Which is now.

 

Anyway, I read somewhere on the Internet about grilled guacamole at some point in time and even though I can’t remember where, it sounded too good to pass up.  So I tried to make a half batch the other day…only to find out that two of the avocados were rotten on the inside and rendered unusable.  So I improvised, because Lord knows you don’t get between a Texan and some good guac.  Only it wasn’t guac at that point because of the lack of being mostly avocado; it was now this weird pico de gallo wannabe thing.  Delicious?  You bet – but still pico.

 

Moral of the story is this: if you lose a couple of avocados it’s no big deal because two avocados are better than none.  And guac-turned-pico is still just as delicious on a salty chip with some limeade that you’re pretending is a margarita because you don’t want to drink while breastfeeding.

 

You know, if you know someone like that.

GRILLED & SMASHED AVOCADO PICO DE GALLO

Rendered from my perfect guacamole recipe, this avocado-based pico de gallo is delicious on chips, in tacos, on fajitas, or just eaten by the spoonful.  Enjoy!

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced in half
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• juice of 2 limes
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a grill pan over medium low heat until sizzling (I like to use a grill pan for this for a couple reasons: 1, it’s winter here and going outside isn’t my thing when it’s freezing and 2, I have almost no control over dropping things down into a grill…so grill pan it is) and spray with nonstick spray.  Halve the avocados, pit them, and then scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place on the grill pan.  Grill for a few minutes on each side until you achieve grill marks.  Next do the same thing with the tomatoes; grill them for a few minutes on each side.  For the onions I let them grill for a little longer (around 4-5 minutes per side) to sweeten them up, but if you like them crunchy just get the grill marks and move on.  Finally the jalapenos – grill for a few minutes on each side.  Once they’re cool, chop the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos into small pieces.  Throw everything into a bowl and smash together until you achieve a chunky, delicious consistency.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until cold to serve.

 

Devour.

I guess stealing recipes isn’t so bad when you make something new out of it, right?  Oh, and when the recipe was yours in the first place.  I suppose that’s important too 🙂