Top of the toast
Set aside the usual avocado and try out these new bread spreads instead.
OH, avocado toast. This sinfully creamy, ridiculously simple meal of smashed, pureed or sliced avocado on crisp toast has been the subject of so much conversation.
On Instagram alone, nearly 800,000 posts are dedicated to avocado toast. In America, tech company Square discovered that Americans were spending US$900,000 (RM3.5mil) a month on the product while in Australia, millionaire Tim Gurner cited spending A$19 (RM56) on avocado toast as one of the reasons young millennials cannot afford to buy homes! Needless to say, this celebrated toast has influenced, inspired and caused almost a cult-like following among young urbanites looking to get on both the health and trend bandwagon.
I have seen avocado toasts on the menus of countless restaurants in the Klang Valley, Australia and London and while it is undoubtedly delicious, like most things in life, even good things can get boring when you have them one too many times.
One day, while I was pureeing baby food for my daughter, I realised that with a little upgrading work here and there, many of her meals could be repurposed into gourmet spreads that could be used to make unique non-avocado toasts. So I started experimenting, and trawled the Internet for additional ideas and inspiration. After some trial and error, I discovered four recipes that I felt could work wonderfully well on toasts and looked rich and colourful too.
Many of these spreads are incredibly easy to make. The pumpkin and truffle oil spread, for example, only requires two ingredients: pumpkin and truffle oil. The truffle oil gives it a rich, opulent quality that mimics the salubriousness of a high-end eatery.
The roasted red pepper spread, meanwhile, generally serves as a crowd favourite (in my experience) and is piquant and robust, with a tinge of spiciness. If you’re after something green in lieu of avocado toast, try the chunky pea and mint spread, which is herbaceous and fresh.
The beetroot hummus is essentially a smooth, creamy Middle Eastern hummus with the earthy flavours of beetroot worked into it. It is something I first tried in a restaurant and which I have since tried to replicate, because it is both delicious and has such a lovely, rich purple hue. This is probably the spread that requires the most work, but that’s only if you choose to make your hummus from scratch
(you can cheat and use canned chickpeas, if time isn’t on your side).
All of these spreads incorporate vegetables and while there is seasoning and oil in them, they make for reasonably healthy breakfast/ brunch meals. The spreads work well as dips too, so you can just make them in bulk if you’re after colourful options for that next dinner party.
But ultimately if you’re looking for ways to enrich your toasts – and some new toast hashtags to start spreading on Instagram – you’ll enjoy whipping up these vibrant alternatives to avocado toast.