Yep, I am a total geek. Call me corny, but I couldn’t resist. And, to be fair, the recipe title flashed in my head while ogling some local organic avocados at the market. It had to be done.
This comes, originally, from the book Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I know, my cookbook collection is nothing if not eclectic. It is a great book and I have discovered some tasty things in there.
So, I don’t remember the original recipe, I remember the name and I remember a quick scan. I started reconstructing and we have basically wound up with a cross between a chunky guacamole pasta and the Kiwi Café’s BLAT but chopped up with pasta instead of in a panini. In fact, we turned Poppy's stroppy suppertime refusal into acceptance by selling it as Guacamole Pasta.
Being back in the carnivore’s company, I decided some crispy bacon would be very tasty topping this all off, and easy to remove for the less meat inclined. This would have a great kick if you added some hot chili, which I think the original called for but the four year old no longer tolerates. I used a healthy handful of chopped cilantro/fresh coriander because it just seemed right. I like a lot of lime and quite a bit of salt with avocado, so I wouldn’t be disinclined to serve this with a lime wedge on top.
If you were cooking this in a normal kitchen, ie. one equipped with a pot large enough to cook a pound of linguine, I would recommend a full pound. If, like me, you are living in a holiday flat where the pots are disturbingly small, you may have to use a little less. You may also have to cook everything that would require a frying pan in the wok because it is in the least terrifying state.
Pasta della California adapted from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
8 slices bacon cooked until crisp (optional)
1 avocado
5 oz (142 grams) grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 red pepper finely diced
Healthy handful cilantro/fresh coriander
2/3 pound linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove the stone and the skin from the avocado and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces.
Boil the water for the pasta. Add the pasta. Cook to al dente and drain. Do not cool.
As the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large pan, or wok, and add the garlic. Cook for a minute, don’t let the garlic burn. Add the tomatoes. Cook for a few seconds and add the red pepper and the lime juice. Toss the cooked, still hot, pasta into the pan with the tomatoes. Add the avocado, fresh coriander and salt and pepper. Toss, gently, until combined.
Put it in a big bowl and top it with some crispy crumbles of bacon, if you fancy.
