chargrilled tomatoes, smashed avocado

I have to confess, I haven't been feeling a lot of motivation lately to be productive. My free time is invariably consumed with net-surfing and the hours just insidiously creep by. Chores and errands are attended to with sloth-like urgency. I have occasional bursts of inspiration and energy, but they seem to be far and few between.

I hope this phase ends soon! Luckily, the making of lazy meals has always come easily to me, and today's brunch idea is no exception.

This is an accidentally vegan brunch that I cooked up one Friday, based on what I found at Simon's place. I guess in a way it's almost like a deconstructed guacamole, except I didn't have any red onion, nor coriander (aka cilantro to my North American readers). And I used lemon instead of lime, and dried chilli flakes instead of fresh, etcetera. You can keep these additional and alternative elements in mind if you make this. But I digress. Simple, yet full of flavour, this is an easy-to-prepare meal that highlights the natural goodness of the ingredients.

chargrilled tomatoes on smashed avocado.

char-grilled tomatoes, smashed avocado

1st step: making the smashed avocado

1 small avocado (approx. 150g or 1/3 lb), peeled and pitted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt, chilli flakes and cracked black pepper, to taste

Mix avocado flesh, lemon juice and garlic together in a bowl. Mash with a fork to your preferred consistency. A smooth puree can be good but I like some little chunks of avocado remaining here and there for this dish - it gives a nice textural element to it.

2nd step: char-grilling the tomatoes

2 medium tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil, or more

Fire up the char-grill pan so that it's hot before you add the tomatoes.
Toss tomatoes in olive oil, then place on the grill. I like to grill it on both sides and get them quite soft, but if you only do it one side, make it the cut-side down. I did mine on cut-side for about 5 minutes, then the rounded side for about 3 minutes, then back to the cut-side again for 1 minute. If you're doing a bit of flipping around, as I did, make sure the tomatoes, or the area of the grill they're placed on, remain well-oiled on subsequent flippings, so that the tomatoes don't stick on the grill.

3rd and final step: assembling

Swipe the smashed avocado onto a plate, and top with the chargrilled tomatoes. And there you go - hot, sizzling, juicy tomatoes on a bed of cool, creamy, smashed-up avocado. Tuck in.

hot, sizzling, juicy tomatoes on a bed of cool, creamy, smashed-up avocado.