Sunday, April 3, 2011

Heirloom Tomato Stacks with Avocado and Cilantro Infused Oil



Heirloom Tomato Stacks with Avocado and Cilantro Infused Oil 
 Serves 4

For the Cilantro Infused Oil:
 3 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup cilantro leaves, well packed
1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed chili pepper

Place the peeled garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse to chop.  Add the cilantro and process until finely chopped.  Alternately, you can mince the garlic and finely chop the cilantro by hand.  Place garlic and cilantro in a small bowl.  Stir in the olive oil, salt and chili pepper.  Set aside.

For the assembly:

4 heirloom tomatoes of varying color
2 avocados
2 limes
Cilantro Infused Oil recipe from above


Slice the tomatoes into 1/2" thick slices.  For each stack you will need 3 tomato slices.  Pick out the 12 most evenly sized slices and mix up the colors for variety.  Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits.  Each stack will use 1/2 of an avocado, divided among 3 layers.  Slice each avocado thinly, about 1/4" per slice.  Cut the limes in half.

Gather 4 small plates.  Place one tomato slice on each plate.  Top with a layer of avocado, a generous squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of cilantro oil.  Repeat for two more layers of tomato and avocado, finishing each stack with 3 layers of tomato, avocado, lime and cilantro oil.