Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich

There are a few new-to-me places I have to tell you about. Rose City Taqueria? It’s such a solid taco shop. Filling, cheap, and that green sauce is awesome. Oh and carne asada fries? Yep. Wiz Bang, the new soft serve place by the same folks as Salt and Straw? Talk about reinvigorating my love for them. They have these things called concretes, which is soft serve mixed with toppings. That Woodblock chocolate soft serve with salted, malted chocolate chip cookie dough is like a Dairy Queen Blizzard on steroids. Unbelievably good. It’s in the new Pine Street Market space, which makes me feel like I’m in Europe. I haven’t been to any of the other restaurants in there, but soon. Boke Dokie is Boke Bowl’s new food cart that focuses on their fried chicken [and tofu] sandwiches. I’ve had their ramen, but never the chicken, but it seems like it deserves it’s own food cart. The chicken was juicy, the bun a perfect mix of soft and sturdy, a kimchi-esque slaw, and the green salsa will melt your face. Bomb. So bomb.

So this simple sandwich of smashed chickpeas and avocado had me craving pickles like whoa. After that first bite, I knew that’s what I wanted. That salty brine and crunch was necessary. Some red onion or some capers would have also been gladly accepted. There was a jar of Colman’s Mustard at the store the other day and I had to have it. I haven’t seen it in non-powder form since I was in the UK years ago. It’s so spicy and intense–probably one of my favorite mustards. It definitely started my love affair with mustard at any rate. It would have been absolutely on this sandwich. It’s a versatile thing, this sandwich. I started with the bare bones of this recipe, smash an avocado and some drained and rinsed chickpeas together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a splash of lemon or lime juice. It’s been all the rage, and I can see why. It’s filling and fresh. It doesn’t leave the office smelling like fish [but I’m not above that]. It can sit in your desk without needing the fridge, but that avocado may start to brown. I realize it’s not really much of a recipe, but it’s just that good.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 15oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• Salt and pepper
• A splash or lemon or lime juice
• Bread
• Optional mix-ins/toppings: mustard, pickles, red onion, capers

Preparation

Mash together the avocado and chickpeas in a bowl. I used my small capacity food processor because the avocado wasn’t as ripe as I would have liked. I think in a perfect world, a fork would work just fine. Add salt, pepper, and lemon/lime juice to taste. Mix in additional condiments and make your sandwich. Top with pickles if you’re into that sort of thing.