Avocado herb pesto grilled cheese

In my zeal to eat healthier fats, I bought a bunch of avocados, which all ripened simultaneously and needed to be consumed. While I have been enjoying them chopped up and in my salad, I wanted to diversify. When I came across this recipe that married avocado with one of my favourite foods (grilled cheese sandwiches), I was sold.

Recipe

adapted from Tastespotting.com
Makes 1 sandwich

2 slices wholegrain bread
2-3 tbsp herb pesto (see below)
2 slices jalapeno Havarti (or any kind of melty cheese)
handful fresh baby spinach
½ avocado, sliced
2 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp mayonnaise
butter

Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread. On the other side, spread herb pesto. To one slice, add cheese, avocado, goat cheese, spinach and top with second slice of bread (mayonnaise-side out).Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add sandwich and cook until bread is golden brown, pressing down lightly on the sandwich. Flip it over and cook until second side is golden brown.

Herb pesto
2 cloves garlic
2 anchovy fillets, packed in oil
2 tbsp white onion, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
handful fresh parsley
handful fresh baby spinach
2-3 tbsp fresh tarragon
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Pulse garlic, anchovy, and onion in food processor until chopped. Add in lemon juice, parsley, spinach and tarragon and process. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until everything is sufficiently chopped, scraping down the sides to make sure everything is chopped evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about ⅓ cup.

Musings

This is a divinely good sandwich. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it's seriously delicious (Kathleen, my dinner guest for the evening, concurred). The pesto adds such a great punch of complex flavour, and avocado, being nature's butter, lends the sandwich a wonderful creaminess--reinforced by the two types of cheeses. A definite winner, and I'm going to pretend it's even vaguely healthy.