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2/16/11

Avocado, pistachio & arugula sandwich

Last month I was invited by Dusty Lockhart of ThreeLockharts to a dinner at Cork to check out the latest items on their menu with some of the other DC food bloggers. I was excited! First, I had a great time when I first met Dusty at Bar Pilar: we had so much in common {our love of Brussels sprouts, dance movies, etc...it was almost like a great first date}. Second, I've heard of Cork, but have never been to it. And finally, a night of wine and food is never a bad thing in my opinion.

From the restaurant's website:

"Cork Restaurant & Wine Bar is the creation of Logan Circle residents Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts. Our dream in creating Cork was to open a welcoming space in our neighborhood for people to come with their friends and family to try outstanding wines, often from unexplored regions of the world, paired with good, simple, local food."
Diane and Khalid were our hosts for the night, and it actually felt like we were inside their home...perhaps the presence of their adorable baby at the table had something to do with it. The restaurant was casual but with a great mood, the food was served in platters to share and the wine never stopped pouring.

One of the dishes that surprised me during the meal was a piece of grilled bread topped with avocado, pistachios, toasted pistachio oil, and sea salt. It was inventive, and yet so simple. And so good!

This past weekend I decided to recreate the dish in my own kitchen but with a few little changes.

Avocado, pistachio & arugula sandwich

Ingredients

Kaiser roll
arugula
oil
salt & pepper
avocado
pistachios, chopped


Directions
1. Cut Kaiser roll in half and toast.
2. Dress arugula with olive oil, salt & pepper.


3. In a bowl, mash avocado. Season with salt & pepper.


4. Spread the mashed avocado on one half of the Kaiser roll, top with arugula and chopped pistachios.





5. Top it with the second half of the Kaiser roll.


Please do me a favor and try this sandwich! I know it has a lot of green in it, but it's so good! The avocado is buttery and soft, the arugula is slightly bitter and the pistachios are bright and crunchy! In the summer, this would go so well with a thick slice of a ripe tomato.


What's your favorite way to eat an avocado?

PS I'm off to Puerto Rico on Thursday, so please don't be mad if I don't reply to your comments ;) I'll be back next week and will be posting a few recipes in the meantime for Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili.

toodles!

22 comments:

1000+1 said...

mnia-mo!!! [it sounds better in Rus: мня-мо] :) this looks like a load of goodness in the bun! but to be honest, i have never tasted an avocado *blush

1000+1 said...

oh and bon voyagé! hasta luego! :)

LB said...

Greens do a body good!
Thank you for this post and have a wonderful time in PR!

sally said...

Love all of the delicious green foods in this sandwich! Have a great trip!

Anonymous said...

I would never think to make something like this but I'll take your word for it.

Bon voyage!

Kulsum@JourneyKitchen said...

oh this is awesome! my kind of sandwich. Fresh. quick and simple

The Small Boston Kitchen said...

Love the combination of flavors in this sandwich! And I'm also a huge fan of just adding a bit of toasted nuts to anything. I love the subtle crunch and pop of flavor they provide. As always, great pictures!

Lara @ GoodCookDoris said...

This looks fantastic! I love avocado and always enjoy reading about new ways to eat it!

Great photos!

Unknown said...

Oh this is absolutely perfect, I love this sandwich. I even have pistachio oil, and I think it would be awesome on this!
*kisses* HH

Gastronomer said...

Bon voyage, hot stuff!

KitchenArtistry said...

Beautiful photos... we'd love to feature them on kitchenartistry.com

Anonymous said...

I love this idea...I'm a big avocado fan! Their health benefits are alone a big thing to be excited about!

Glad I found your blog!

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

I freakin' LOVE avocado. One of my favorite sandwiches is actually mashed avocado with a slice of habanero or sharp cheddar. I would love this sandwich though!

Simones Kitchen said...

O that's right you're in Puerto Rico right now! I hope you have a lot of fun and I can't wait to hear the stories once you're back!

Lael Hazan @educatedpalate said...

Lovely! What a great idea for a sandwich. This is one I can make for the kids too. Yeah.

Mhel said...

That looks yummy :P I will definitely serve that for our Vegetarian entree at school and will put some Tomato and cheese slices :) My favorite way to eat an avocado is mixed with milk, sugar and ice cubes...People here in the U.S. find it weird but it's very comforting to me :D Have a wonderful trip!

Nadji said...

Une manière originale de déguster un avocat. J'aime beaucoup.
See soon

Jen said...

This looks great -- all my favorties together! My favortie way to avocado is either
A) walnut bread with avocado, apple, goat cheese and arugula or alfalfa sprouts.
OR B) Avocado, apple, and deli turkey on cinnamon raisin bread.

Yum!

Lizzy said...

This looks really good. I used to (when I could eat bread) have avocado sandwiches with just lemon, salt, and avocado but this looks like a great alternative and I love the idea adding the pistachios.

Maggie said...

Those avocado pistachio toasts at Cork are so delicious... I find myself randomly craving them all the time. Gorgeous photos here!

Anonymous said...

Oh my god. Diane is a troll. I would love that restaurant if she weren't such a hideous human. She should take some lessons in hospitality. I takes a lot to get me this worked up. I no longer spend my money at Cork or Cork market, and instead happily spend it down the street at Estadio, where they know a thing about kind service.

The Hungry housewife said...

Ohhhhhhhh ,lord have mercy! AMAZING.