Caprese Stuffed Avocado

Get your avocados ready by slicing in half lengthwise and removing the pit. Very carefully, widen and lengthen the valley made by the pit to create more room for the caprese filling. (Important: do not simply toss the extra bits of avocado. Save them in a small container and throw them over your omelet tomorrow morning.)

Plate the avocado over the bed of greens. Spoon enough pesto into each avocado half to generously coat the inside of the little valley.

Make the balsamic reduction. Put balsamic vinegar and coconut sugar or honey into a small saucepan, and heat on medium until it reduces. Once you have your reduction, put one large ice cube into the reduction and swirl it around the pan for about 20 seconds or until the ice cube is about half melted, then discard it. You don’t want to water down the reduction but you do want to cool it off so it doesn’t create a weird temperature variation in your dish.

Chop tomatoes and mozzarella. I waited until this point in the process to chop these two because I want them to be as crisp and fresh as possible, but the difference is probably negligible. If you decide to do all your chopping at once, no worries, but don’t set the tomatoes and mozzarella pieces in the same dish while you get everything else together because the flavors will meld.

Portion tomato and mozzarella pieces into avocado halves. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over everything, and enjoy.

Serve alongside a small piece of fish, or bacon-wrapped waster chestnuts. Or, you can increase the amount of greens, add an extra half of stuffed avocado, and it’s a meal in its own right. This recipe can easily be sized as needed.