All right, 2013, you’ve got my attention. You’re a big one.

Friends, it is with joy so intense I feel it in every part of my body that I get to tell you that Saveur magazine, along with all of you lovlies who voted, has named this here blog the best cooking blog of 2013. Wow. Just crazy wow.

There are so many things to say and yet I can’t hear the words beyond the excited screaming in my head.

This award is like a giant affirmation that I’m headed in the right direction and for someone, such as myself, who spends much of the time on the journey questioning. “Is this the right way? Should I turn here? Should I have kept walking straight or turned back there? Hmm. Maybe I’ll just stop here and wonder about which way to go for awhile.” This year it has been about walking forward with confidence and trusting that my steps are being guided and I’m just going along for the ride.

So I’m taking this award as a giant sign along the path that reads, “This is the right way! Keep going!”

But let’s get to the real reason why I’m here – to tell you about the best lunch I’ve had in a very long time. I mean I guess it’s not hard to beat the peanut butter and honey sandwiches that have become customary lunch around here.

No, you know what. It is hard to beat that. Peanut butter sandwiches are like eating a sweet memory from when your biggest problem was deciding which cartoon to watch. But they are still not as good as creamy slices of avocado under a layer of even creamier burrata which buckles under the weight of a pile of sweet and tangy roasted tomatoes. Add to that roughly torn basil and a squeeze of fresh lemon all on a butter toasted piece of country bread. Lunch.

It’s a caprese salad and yet it’s not. The genius behind the addition of avocado to this classic salad is Gaby Dalkins, author of the just released cookbook, Absolutely Avocados. A book devoted entirely to the glorious avocado. Of course there’s guacamole – goat cheese guacamole and spicy sesame guacamole, for example. Then Gaby goes and throws some avocado into her cookies and purees avocado with her hummus. She’s brilliant.

Now, I’m not sure my caprese will ever be without avocado. Or roasted tomatoes for that matter (unless it’s early September in Seattle when the tomatoes just off the vine have the same robust sweetness as those that have bathed in a hot oven for an hour).  And since we’re changing things up quite a bit I’m also fairly certain that all caprese salads around here will be eaten on top of buttery, crisp bread that was rubbed with fresh garlic. Pretty sure I can no longer call it caprese, but I will call it lunch and then I’ll go ahead and call it dinner too.

 

 

 

 

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70 replies on “Roasted Tomato Caprese with Avocado”

  4. I saw that you were nominated and sent you good wishes! I’m glad you got it!! Congratulations, you really really deserve it, I mean your recipes are just amazing and your pictures are art!

    Congrats!

  7. Congratulations Ashley, the award is so well deserved. Not only does everything here look and sound so delicious but it is always inspiring, like a breath of fresh air. Whenever I feel like I’m losing my love of food, I come here and I remember all over again why I feel the way I do. Like this caprese with avocado which I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about.

  8. Congratulations!! it’s well deserved! I’ve only discovered your blog some months a go while looking for how to make salt at home and it was love at first sight! great content, DELICIOUS pictures and great design! Your blog inspires me!

  9. Congratulations, Ashley! I’m so thrilled for you. This award is definite confirmation that you’re headed in the right direction. Really love all your recipes– always so delicious and gorgeous, and this one is no different. I can already taste how yummy this is. 🙂

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  14. Congratulations!! I voted for you in Saveur.
    I love your bog and I learnt so much from it.
    All the best, from another active world traveler
    PS. Thank you so much for tis recipe! It’s wonderful, I can hardly wait to finish work, to get home and make it…

  15. I was so excited when I saw that you won, HOORAY!! Very well-deserved, which is evident through this post alone. These photographs are seriously amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever needed caprese as badly as I do right now. Looks so wonderful. And congratulations again!

  19. Congratulations x 100! Exciting news, and I think you’re absolutely right about 2013: it’s really still just getting going and look what you’ve got going on! Amazing. Hope to see you soooooon.

  20. Congratulations Ashley! This is awesome and so well deserved! I’m really looking forward to your upcoming book as well, 2013 is going to be a fantastic year!

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  22. Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations! You are an amazing artist and a rare talent who is definitely doing what they are meant to do – making the world more beautiful; one photo and one recipe at a time!

  24. Ashley, congratulations! It’s so wonderfully redeeming when the universe yells, “Yes, go this direction!” I love the way you write about food and how it intersects your life, and this post is a prime example of that. This recipe looks stellar… but I have to say, I’ll always love peanut butter and honey on toast, too.

  25. Ah, congratulations on your win Ashley! There were so many excellent nominees, so earning the award must be such a huge deal. This is most certainly the right way 🙂

    And ridiculously beautiful, delicious, perfect caprese open facer salad-y thing. I want that right now.

  26. Congratulations! So well deserved Ashley. You do beautiful work on these pages and it’s a pleasure to stop by and see what gorgeous creation you are working on. Like this sandwich number. Yum.

  27. ashley! the pictures are so gorgeous. The last thing I need after vacation is more bread but all those delicious things on some greens would be so delicious. and woo hoo to your award! It IS your year, lady!

  35. I’ve made caprese so many times before but you’ve managed to make it look SO beautiful. A great recipe, I’m sure, but also a very talented cook and photographer to make it look like that 🙂

  42. This is great news. Haha, it seems like this is going to be quite the year for you – and well deserved it is. I absolutely love everything about this lunch, and that comes from someone who loathes avocado. I’ll make sure to give it a second chance, as soon as the tomatoes here in the Netherlands are ripe enough and have all the flavour they need.

  44. Congratulations on a well deserved win. Your blog is one of my favourites to read and I find your photography and recipes to be so inspiring. May you continue to create lots of glorious food to keep all of your fans happy 🙂

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  52. a huge and heartfelt congratulations – your blog is one of my absolute favorites and i’m so glad you won! gorgeous photos, as always, and this recipe has my mouth watering. can’t wait to try it out – i love me a peanut butter & honey sandwich, so i trust you that this is worth the extra effort 🙂

  54. Congratulations Ashley! Well deserved honor. I have been a huge fan ever since I discovered “The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie…” post on your blog. That cookie has become the gold standard by which I judge all other cookies!

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  63. oh my goodness – I dedicated my whole morning to making this ( I was in the mood to make bread anyways!) and it is AMAZING.

  64. Just tried this recipe yesterday, and instead of toasted bread, used a thick slice of a soft, thick, freshly made bread loaf. It tasted so good, and I was surprised at how easy it was to make, and how artistic it looked in the end! My tomatoes, though, roasted in about 10-14 minutes, so I guess it varies by oven. (Also, I put it at 400 degrees F since I was a little impatient to eat. I’ll try it next time at the suggested temperature.) This is a delicious, elegant and easy recipe!! Thank you so much!

    PS: I LOVE your blog, and you really deserved the award!! I can’t wait to read your book. Good luck! 🙂

  65. Congratulations on winning Food Blog of 2013! Love all of your stories that come with your blogs! This looks absolutely delicious and very summery! I love the use of Avocado to substitute butter or oil seems like a much healthier decision! If I don’t make a suggest myself, I bet this would taste even better on garlic bread! Thanks for the idea can’t wait to make this for lunch one day!

  66. This recipe is amazing. The taste is just great. It is simple, fresh and easy to do. Love it!

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