Avocado "boats" with tuna salad

 

Ahhhh... here I am. Back home and already bored. I have to say that it's kind of hard to spend a few days in a city as awesome as Barcelona and come back to a tiny village by a Swiss lake. I mean, it's great to be here and all, but it's no Barcelona.

While I was there I made sure I sampled as much food as humanly possible, which is very easy over there for two reasons. The first one is that it's cheap. The second is that with tapas you get to try lots of different things without over-stuffing yourself. Ok, who am I trying to kid? I did over-stuff myself anyways. But it was worth it. Croquettes, clams, snails, potatoes and, needless to say, tons and tons of jamon serrano and jamon iberico, the Spanish equivalents of prosciutto. I had it everyday, multiple times a day, usually starting at breakfast. Yes, it's that good.

Other than eating —and drinking— my heart out I did all the usual sightseeing, enjoying the many amazing churches and buildings the city has to offer. It was an intense four days and the fact that I was there alone made each day even more intense, making me feel as if I had moved there or something. Which is something that one day I'd like to do. As I was driving the 660 miles that separate Barcelona from Switzerland yesterday, I was musing about living in Barcelona for a couple of months to learn Spanish. I mean, since I'm here, I might as well do something that makes me a better a person, and knowing more foreign languages in my opinion always makes you a better person. So that's the idea I'm toying with.

And, as most ideas do, it came to me as I was sitting idly at a bar —waht a surprise, right?— that served tapas. Someone in the table next to me asked to the waiter "What does aguacate mean?" It turns out it means avocado. I was baffled, because for all my life I always assumed that 'avocado' was a Spanish word. Turns out, it isn't. Turns out I need to go studying Spanish. In Barcelona.

AVOCADO "BOATS" WITH TUNA SALAD

Serves 4

2 ripe Haas avocados, halved and pitted

1 can of tuna in olive oil, drained

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 lemon

! tablespoon olive oil

Salt and crushed red pepper, to taste

In a bowl mix the tuna with the chopped onion and tomato until it flakes. Season it with salt, crushed red pepper to taste. Divide mixture in four equal parts and place it in each avocado half. 

Mix olive oil and the juice of half lemon and drizzle the boats.

Note: if you are not going to serve this dish right away, either wait until the last minute to cut the avocados open or drizzle them with lime or lemon juice to keep them from browning.