Grilling avocados offers new flavors for traditional foods

U.S. Department of Agriculture | Via WikiMedia Commons

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of the A&E section’s celebration of avocados in honor of National Guacamole Day.

By Molly Dunn
Assistant City Editor

Have you ever wanted to change up your guacamole? Or make something different with your avocados? Next time you start to cook with an avocado, try grilling it.

For those of you who love making guacamole or simply dicing your avocados to put on top of a salad or mix into a salsa, grilling avocados is a new and fun way to use them. The beauty of grilling any food is that it is so simple and easy, and tastes great!

Simply slice the avocado in half, remove the pit, drizzle it with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then place on the grill. If you want the char marks on the flesh of the avocado, place it flesh side down. The grill allows the avocado to have a smoky taste and become charred, giving it more complexity.

This method of preparing avocado doesn’t take long either. After roughly two minutes, the avocado will already show grill marks and the smokiness of the avocado will waft through the air. Who knew grilling an avocado could make it that much better?

After grilling an avocado, there are endless possibilities of preparation. If you want to give your traditional guacamole a twist, dice and smash the grilled avocado to give the guacamole a charred element. Ordinary salads can be kicked up a notch with the addition of diced grilled avocado. Pair it with grilled shrimp over a cold summer salad and your taste buds will be ecstatic.

Some foodies suggest adding vinegar, chopped tomatoes and onions or other seasonings to the pit of the avocado while grilling to enhance its flavor.

As we transition from summer to fall, keep the summer alive by grilling an avocado.

The next time you want to eat an avocado, consider putting it on the grill. Your taste buds will thank you later.

Try this grilled avocado and pineapple salsa recipe.