Recipe: Avocado and Egg Toast with Wild Mustard Flowers
Though it's a fancier version of basic avocado toast, it still takes hardly any time and makes a beautiful, satisfying breakfast or snack. Yellow mustard blossoms offer a peppery bite, a great complement to the creamy avocado and egg yolk.
Wild mustard (Brassica nigra) is a weed that most of us are familiar with seeing, yet may not realize is edible. An invasive plant, it grows all over SoCal, crowding out many native wildflowers. For that reason it can often be gathered prolifically, although honey bees may depend on them as well, so forage responsibly.
If you don't have access to mustard, other good alternatives in this dish would be wild radish flowers or arugula flowers or leaves.
Avocado and Egg Toast with Wild Mustard Flowers
Serves 1
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 hard-boiled egg (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 slice bread
- White wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mustard flowers
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel and pit the avocado. Using a fork, mash the avocado with olive oil, lemon juice, and a small pinch of salt and pepper.
Peel the hard-boiled egg. Cut it crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Toast the bread. Spread the mashed avocado on the toast and arrange the egg slices on top of the avocado. Finish with a light drizzle of vinegar, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the mustard flowers. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
• To make a hard-boiled egg: Place the egg in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil, turn off the heat, and cover the pan. Let sit for 8 to 10 minutes; the longer it sits, the harder the set will be. Transfer the egg to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely. Can make up to 8 eggs at one time.