Springtime Avocado Toast with Green Olive Relish and Lemon

Not all avocado toast is created alike. This version tops off layers of silky avocado with piquant olive and caper relish with a healthy dose of lemon.

Who doesn’t adore avocado toast? At it’s most simple, it is a revelation of textures and flavors: salty, creamy, crunch, silky. And because this much-loved snack/breakfast/brunch/lunch item relies on few ingredients, they should be of the best quality. Choose chewy, crunchy-crusted levain, a seed-studded multigrain, or other flavorful artisan bread for the base and make sure to pick out a perfectly ripe, bright green avocado that has a little give but isn’t guacamole-ready.

From there, the avocado toast world is really your oyster. A dusting of flaked sea salt and a drizzle of lemon juice for the purists, or a sprinkle of chile flakes for those who want to spice it up a bit.

On a recent visit to L.A., I had a delicious brunch at The Hart and The Hunter, a cute bistro attached to a boutique hotel on Melrose Avenue. There, they served a transformational avocado toast on super-seedy bread with a smoked olive relish and red onion slivers. It was fresh and tangy and oh-so-delicious.

With memories of that toast, I came up with a lemony green olive relish emboldened with salty-tangy capers and plenty of excellent-quality extra-virgin olive oil. It’s simple and makes for a very elegant breakfast. Serve it with a bit of peppery baby arugula for a light lunch.

Recipe: Avocado Toast with Green Olive Relish and Lemon

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the green olive relish

• 1/3 cup pitted and very finely chopped green olives
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp capers (if salt-packed, rinsed and dried), finely chopped
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 4 large or 8 small slices crusty country-style bread, such as levain or sourdough
• 2 ripe avocados

Instructions:

1. To make the relish, in a bowl, stir together the minced olives, lemon zest, capers, and olive oil. Set aside.

1. Toast the bread. Halve the avocados lengthwise, twist, and remove the pit. Use a metal spoon to scoop out each half. Slice the avocado halves, and top each piece of toast with avocado (use 1/2 an avocado per slice for the large slices or 1/4 avocado per slice for the small slices).

1. Top each slice with some relish, drizzle with a little olive oil, and serve.