Spicy Avocado Toast with Fried Egg

I’m a bit reluctant to say “Happy Cinco de Mayo” today. Not because I don’t want to celebrate the holiday, but because for the past few weeks, all I have read lately has been about Mexican food. Blogs and food magazines have completely inundated us with posts and articles about the perfect guacamole, salsa, margarita, or name-a-conventional-Mexican-dish here. I get it, I do. People want to eat typical Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo. They also want to knock back Coronas and smash piñatas, but that doesn’t mean that I necessarily have to. I want to celebrate in my own way.

I wanted to make a dish using traditional Mexican ingredients that was more interesting than flan, but less labor intensive than huevos rancheros. And while I had a surplus of rapidly ripening avocados, I settled on a gussied-up version of NYC’s Café Gitane’s avocado toast. Since their incredibly simple dish only consists of toast, avocado, olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed red pepper, I decided to top it with a fried egg (mostly because I think everything tastes better with a fried egg). Although this dish is not necessarily considered Mexican, it does feature traditional ingredients such as avocados and chili peppers. And if this avocado toast doesn’t quite have you doing the Mexican hat dance, then throw in an ice cold Corona to spice up the fiesta. With my reluctance lessened and stomach full, I can now festively say “Happy Cinco de Mayo!”



Spicy Avocado Toast with Fried Egg

Ingredients

Bread
Avocado
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Crushed red pepper
Egg

Method

Toast bread and brush with olive oil. Cut the avocado in half, core it, and slice lengthwise. Place sliced avocado on toast and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and crushed red pepper. At Café Gitane, the avocado is mashed, but I think slicing looks more elegant.

In a frying pan, fry and season the egg to your liking and then place over avocado toast. Buen provecho!