Bright Idea: Guacamole As A Binder
Ha, I tricked you into clicking on another What To Eat For Lunch about chicken salad! Well, it's definitely more about guacamole than chicken salad, tuna salad or any of the lunch salads I love on sandwiches. Something has to keep the chicken/tuna/chopped eggs/salmon and whatnot together, and we've totally exhausted the possibilities of mayo and Greek yogurt (see that sandwich debate here). I've also tried it with hummus to various levels of success ranging from "none" to "okay, interesting."
Without a binder, you've just got a bunch of meat guaranteed to not stay put for very long in your sandwich. It will fall out. It won't adhere the bread slices to the filling — it'll throw off the entire orbit of your sandwich game. Realizing after so many years of eating guacamole and sandwiches separately that guac binds and adheres was amazing — it's too useful to use as a spread alone. It must BE the filling itself.
So here are the guacs we're honoring today, and a few new sandwich ideas to go with them.
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Basic guacamole mixed with chopped leftover chicken, shredded cheddar and a little salsa rolled in corn tortillas: "Raw" Guacamole Chicken Salad Taquitos. -
Spicy guacamole mixed with chopped leftover chicken, a dab of adobo sauce (the sauce in the chipotle can) and cilantro: Spicy Chipotle-Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich. -
Creamy guac dip mixed with canned tuna, lime juice, finely chopped red onion and red peppers: Tuna Avocado "Ceviche" Sandwich. -
Lobster guacamole mixed with chopped hard-boiled eggs on a BLT. If you can think of a name for that I'll be very impressed.
At least with regards to sandwiches, yogurt and mayo may be in for a long stint in the fridge, unused, chatting with the mango pickle and ajvar, commiserating with the hellishly spicy habanero mustard I thought was a good idea at the time wondering what they did wrong. Nothing, guys. Take a lap. I'm inventing Cobbacado Chicken Salad. It worked for macaroni.
More salad sandwiches for lunch on Food Republic: