Grilled Avocado with Poached Egg

Creamy avocado halves, quickly charred on a hot grill pan, dusted with taco seasoning and topped with a perfectly poached egg and shredded Mexican cheese. I don't know about you, but I'm sort of madly in love with this.

I'm not 100% sure why I came up with this. It could be that I'm wild for avocados. Or that poached eggs make everything better. And Mexican food rules. I DO know that I wanted a protein-rich side dish for the pasta I was serving for dinner (it was a meat-free pasta dish). Turns out, it made quite an excellent side - and, frankly, it kind of stole the show. Sorry tagliatelle.

You'll be shocked how quickly and easily this dish comes together (making it a great breakfast option too). You can quickly grill the avocado halves while the eggs are poaching - AKA multitasking.  Then, nestle the eggs in the avocados, sprinkle the top with seasoning and cheese, and use scissors for the scallion garnish. No need for quirky cooking techniques or labor-intensive prep. Thanks to the beauty of the ingredients, the dish is plain-old pretty, all by itself. Don't you love it when you don't fuss, but it looks like you did?

Anyway, I hope you try this - for breakfast, brunch, lunch, midday snack, or side dish. It's loaded with flavor, incredibly easy, and jam-packed with nutrients.

Grilled Avocado with Poached Egg

4 large eggs
Cooking spray
2 avocados, halved and pitted
1 lime, halved
1 teaspoon taco seasoning or fajita seasoning, plus a little more for sprinkling over top
1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend or shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped scallions

To poach the eggs, bring about 3-4 inches of water to a simmer over medium-high heat (use a pan that's large enough to hold 4 eggs, such as a large saucepan or high-sided skillet). Crack the eggs into a shallow bowl or ramekin and then slide the eggs into the simmering water. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, to grill the avocados, coat a stove-top grill pan with cooking spray and preheat to medium-high. Squeeze the lime juice on the flesh of the avocado halves. Add the avocados to the hot pan, flesh-side down. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have nice grill marks.
Flip the avocados over and season the flesh with the taco seasoning. Gently place the eggs on/in the avocado halves and top with the cheese and scallions. Sprinkle a little more taco seasoning over top and serve.

Serves 4