Avocado Crostini with Reduced Balsamic and Hickory Smoked Sea Salt | Friday Night Bites

I have said it before and it is worth repeating – sometimes the simplest things in life are the best.  For me, I love putting together recipes with great ingredients that have great flavor profiles yet there are not a billion components.  Quite often folks think that I make these elaborate dishes that take forever, but that is the exception versus the rule. 

One of my favorite simple appetizers is an Avocado Crostini with Reduced Balsamic with a sprinkle of Smoked Hickory Sea Salt. It is crunchy, creamy, salty, and sweet with a touch of smoke.  Quite honestly, it is two to three bites of heaven.  The recipe is fairly loose, so you can make as few or as many as you would like.

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My current obsession is with smoked salts.  Several months ago, I visited Oxbow Public Market in Napa.  Within the vast array of specialty shops, the Whole Spice Company caught my eye.  It was filled with a large selection of unique spices, salts, sugars, and custom blends of spices.  The salts were fascinating, intriguing and unique.  You could buy fennel salt, lemon thyme sea salt, truffle salt, grey salt, pink salt and applewood smoked salt.  I picked up some of the applewood smoked salt which I contemplated using on these crostinis.  At the end, I felt the hickory smoked sea salt was harmonious with the other ingredients.

Recently Williams Sonoma has come out with an expansive selection of salts, spices and herbs.  From the everyday faire to extremely unique varieties, the selection was impressive.  I purchased the Hickory Smoked Sea Salt.

These delightful crostinis would pair very well with a crisp white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a rich smoky Cabernet Sauvignon filled with subtle fruit.  Or you could swing the pendulum the other way and break out a dry sparkling wine or champagne.

Avocado Crostini with Reduced Balsamic and Hickory Smoked Sea Salt

Makes 16

1 Sour Dough Baguette, 16 ½ inch slices

Olive Oil

Garlic Powder

2 Avocados, ripe

½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar

Hickory Smoked Sea Salt

Brush each side of the sliced baguette with olive oil and then lightly sprinkle with the garlic powder on each side.  Add to a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until lightly browned on each side.  About 5 to 7 minutes.  Turn over at the midway point to ensure even browning.  Remove and let cool.

To reduce the balsamic, add to a small skillet over medium to medium high heat and let reduce.  Should resemble the consistency of syrup.  Watch carefully not to burn or over heat. 

To prepare the avocado, cut lengthwise in half.  With your knife gently tap the pit to remove with the knife and disregard.  Using your knife gently loosen the flesh of the avocado from the skin by running your knife close to the skin to remove.  Lay flat on a cutting board and cut in half lengthwise, then slice.

To assemble, lay 4 to 5 slices of avocado on each Crostini.  Drizzle about a half teaspoon of the reduced balsamic over each toast and then sprinkle with the hickory smoked sea salt.