Avocado Cristo With Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction

Submitted by DeSouter

"Recipe courtesy Brent Wertz, Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY."

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photo by College Girl

Ready In:: 1hr 5mins
Ingredients:: 14
Serves:: 4-6

ingredients

8 eggs, lightly beaten
4 ounces milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
1 loaf sourdough bread, cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
6 ounces monterey jack cheese
Plum tomato jam
1 lb cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 ounces sugar
Balsamic reduction
6 ounces aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium size bowl combine the eggs, milk, garlic, cumin, and salt and pepper, and lightly beat.
Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture covering both sides.
In a baking dish lightly coated with olive oil, place a layer of bread slices on the bottom.
Arrange a layer of avocado slices in a fan design on top of the bread.
Cover with a layer of Monterey Jack.
Place another layer of the dipped bread slices over the cheese and avocados.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bread is nicely browned.
To make the tomato jam, saute the tomatoes and sugar in a pan until liquid reduces and becomes thick.
In a medium size pot, reduce the vinegar until slightly thickened.
To serve, remove the avocado cristo from baking dish and cut into wedges.
Arrange wedges on each plate with the plum tomato jam and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.
Garnish plate with lime juice, chopped cilantro, and a slice of avocado.

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Reviews

I lightened it up quite a bit. I used egg whites and super thin slices of sourdough for the cristo part. I used stevia instead of sugar and heirloom tomato instead of the cherry tomatoes in the jam. I am out of cilantro but that would have been AMAZING. I love it. I just reduced the balsamic vinegar with the tomatoes to save on calories. The glaze would have been really pretty, I just didn't want to dirty up more pans. To lighten it up further, I used barely any cheese and 1/8 of an avocado. DELICIOUS!!! I took a lot of liberties but holy moly is this so good. The flavor combo is out of this world.

College Girl
Yum! The avocado cristo was good, but with the addition of the cherry tomato jam and the balsamic reduction, it reached new heights! Sprinkled with cilantro and lemon juice, I was in heaven! Thanks so much for posting!

Sharon123

Tweaks

I lightened it up quite a bit. I used egg whites and super thin slices of sourdough for the cristo part. I used stevia instead of sugar and heirloom tomato instead of the cherry tomatoes in the jam. I am out of cilantro but that would have been AMAZING. I love it. I just reduced the balsamic vinegar with the tomatoes to save on calories. The glaze would have been really pretty, I just didn't want to dirty up more pans. To lighten it up further, I used barely any cheese and 1/8 of an avocado. DELICIOUS!!! I took a lot of liberties but holy moly is this so good. The flavor combo is out of this world.

College Girl

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

DeSouter

United States

Being a born and bred New Yorker with lots of varied ethnic food influences growing up, you can find me enjoying anything from Bloodwurst to Chicken Jahlfrezi to PBJs with fresh-ground honey roasted peanut butter and yummy homemade strawberry jam, and don't forget my friend Anna's mother's Pomodoro Sauce (via Bari, Italy). When it comes to eating and cooking, many native New Yorkers seem to be of whatever background that is on their plate at the moment. I notice that a good number of Zaarites list "pet peeves" here. Many list whiny people as their peeve. Hey...I live in NYC where almost EVERYONE whines and complains, so I don't notice anymore. What burns my biscuits is seeing recipes that call for some really funky ingredients like Kraft (cough cough) Parmesan cheese in the green can and chicken from a can. I had never even heard of chicken in CAN(???) until last year. Get the best quality ingredients you purse will allow. That includes spices. Those jars of spices that sell for 99 cents are no bargain if you can afford something better. Do yourself a favor and if possible, go and explore any ethnic food markets in your area. They have the most wonderful spices and herbs and they are usually priced well. And you'll find so many other goodies you'd never have even known about. (I know this isn't possible for everyone, but then there's always the internet) Sorry, I am the product of an "ingredient snob" father and I just can't help having inherited that gene to a certain extent. And again, I'm a New Yawka...we are SLIGHTLY opinionated. You're reading about the person who drives (I kid you not) 3 hours upstate and 3 hours back just to get THE sausage I need for my Thanksgiving stuffing. So call me fanatical. I am a rather good baker and for a short time I had my own dessert biz...until I found out how hard it can be to work for yourself. So I went back to working as an Art Editor in publishing.

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