Turkey Avocado Toasties

A few weeks ago Patrick and I did some grocery shopping at Costco. This means surplus amounts of ingredients! Once we got home and put everything away I browsed through a few cookbooks to see what I could find that would take advantage of the ingredients currently in the fridge. I found inspiration for this turkey avocado toastie which used 3 ingredients from the Costco trip - avocados, baguettes, and fresh spinach (for the side spinach salad)!

If you like Asian flavors then this will knock your socks off! Fresh ginger provides a burst of flavor, sesame oil gives the dish some umami savoriness, and wasabi paste is there for a spice kick!

Turkey Sandwiches with Ginger-Avocado Relish from Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh & Fast cookbook

   Serves 4 | Time 30 minutes  

Ingredients

4 green onions, white and light green portions, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

5 tsp rice vinegar

3 1/2 tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 tsp wasabi paste

1 firm but ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper, to taste

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. turkey breast cutlets

Asian sesame oil for brushing

4 thick slices country-style bread

   I sliced two baguettes into 1/2" slices

4 large butter lettuce leaves, sliced

   Omitted for the side spinach salad

Directions

   In a bowl, combine the green onions, olive oil, vinegar, 2 tsp. of the minced ginger and the wasabi paste. Gently stir in the avocado. We added in the juice of 1 lime to prevent this ginger-avocado relish from browning. Season with salt and pepper. Set the relish aside. 

   Prepare a hot fire in a grill. We used our grill pan. 

   Brush the turkey on both sides with sesame oil, and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Before doing this I used a meat tenderizer to pound the turkey cutlets to 1/4" thickness. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 tsp. ginger over one side of the turkey. Brush one side of the bread slices with sesame oil.

   Place the turkey on the grill and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Place the bread, oiled side down, on the grill and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

   Arrange 1 bread slice, grilled side up, on each plate. Arrange the lettuce on the bread and top with the turkey. Spoon the relish on the turkey and serve immediately.