GRILLED AVOCADOS WITH BOURBON BARBECUE BEANS
Serves 4
Serve as is for aside dish or with the grain of your choice as a main.
MAKE AHEAD: The barbecue beans can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; reheat before using.
Adapted from “VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook,” by Nadine
Horn and Jörg Mayer (The Experiment, 2018).
2 teaspoons canola oil 1 large shallot lobe, finely
chopped (1/2 cup) 3/4 cup frozen lima beans 3/4 cup no-salt-added canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup your favorite
barbecue sauce 2 tablespoons bourbon 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (sweet or hot) 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more
as needed
2 firm-ripe Hass
avocados
2 teaspoons extra-virgin
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro 1/2 cup diced cucumber 1 lime, cut into wedges,
for serving
Pour the canola oil into a saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, for 4 minutes. Stir in the lima (can go in frozen) and kidney beans, barbecue sauce, bourbon, smoked paprika and salt, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lima beans are tender and the bourbon flavor has mellowed. Taste, and add more salt as needed.
Halve the avocados and discard the pits (keep the skins on). Brush the cut sides with the extra-virgin olive oil.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the avocados, cut sides down, until they have dark brown grill marks, for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, turn the halves over and cook for 5 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the avocado flesh comes out hot to the touch.
Place the avocado halves on a platter, cut sides up. Spoon the barbecue beans on each one and top with the cilantro and cucumber. Serve hot, with the lime wedges.
Nutrition | Per serving: 290 calories, 7 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 510 mg sodium, 9 g dietary fiber, 8 g sugar