Cadry’s Stuffed Grilled Avocado stuffed with Smoky Hearts of Palm Salsa. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe

While many people are baffled when it comes to plant-based foods on the barbecue, vegans truly are at no shortage of options. There are veggie burgers and veggie sausages, of course, but even better, fire caramelizes fruits and vegetables, heightening their natural flavors.

For today’s recipe, I brought out the dessert of fruits, avocados. After slicing them in half, removing the pit, adding a squeeze of lime juice and lightly oiling them, they were ready for a hot turn on the barbecue. After they’d received their signature hash marks, I filled them with smoky hearts of palm salsa.

This hearts of palm salsa can be eaten on the same day that it’s made, but it gets better the next day after the flavors have been allowed to meld and deepen. Here’s my advice… Call your friends and invite them over for a grill-out on Saturday. Friday night, put together this quick hearts of palm salsa, cover it, and put it in the refrigerator.

The next day when your friends arrive, throw the avocados on the grill, stuff them with salsa, and serve them as an appetizer with drinks. Or make them a starter salad for a meal of grilled polenta with grilled asparagus. The avocados can be eaten on their own with just a spoon, or get some corn chips and start dipping, making sure to get a bit of avocado in every bite.

Hello, spring. You couldn’t have gotten here quickly enough.

• 1 14.5 ounce jar of hearts of palm, drained (about five 4-inch sticks)
• ½ medium red bell pepper, diced small
• 2 heaping Tablespoons yellow onion, chopped small
• ¼ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper

Roughly chop the hearts of palm into small, bite-sized chunks. Put them in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and combine. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to develop.

• 3 ripe avocados
• 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice, divided
• Extra virgin olive oil for lightly oiling avocados
• Tortilla chips (optional)

Cut the avocados evenly in half. Remove the pits. Cover each cut avocado half in ½ teaspoon of lime juice. Lightly brush each half with extra virgin olive oil. (Don’t bother oiling the exterior peel. It won’t be touching the grill.)

Heat an outdoor grill to 500 degrees. Put the cut side of each avocado half face down onto the grill grate. Grill for a minute to a minute and a half, until marks have formed. Turn the avocados (still with the cut side down) at a forty-five degree angle to make hash marks, and continue grilling for a minute longer. Remove the avocado halves from the grill.

Add a heaping spoonful of hearts of palm salsa into the pit cavity of the avocado halves. Serve immediately with a spoon as a salad or with tortilla chips for dipping.

This post is being shared at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays.