Our Avocado Toast recipe: how we bring international flavour to Pordenone

When we put avocado toast on The Garden's menu, some people in Pordenone turned up their noses. 'But we're in Friuli, what's avocado got to do with it?' It has everything to do with it. Because good food has no borders, and a dish made with excellent ingredients and prepared with love works anywhere. Today it's the most photographed and most requested dish in our bistro.

Ingredients for 1 serving

Rustic naturally leavened sourdough bread — 2 thick slices. The bread is the foundation: it must have character, a crisp crust and an open crumb. We get ours from our trusted baker in Pordenone.

Ripe avocado — 1 whole. It should yield slightly to the pressure of your thumb. If it's hard as a rock, it's not ready. If it sinks too far, it's gone.

Smoked salmon — 4-5 thin, quality slices. Fresh, not too salty, with a clean scent of sea and delicate smoke.

Fresh egg — 1, for the poached egg. As fresh as possible: the fresher the egg, the better it holds its shape in water.

Seasonings — Extra virgin olive oil, Maldon salt, lemon, black pepper, mixed toasted seeds (sesame, flax, sunflower).

Method

Step 1: The bread — Toast the slices of bread to a deep golden colour. Don't be afraid to push it a little further: the contrast between the crunch of the bread and the creaminess of the avocado is everything. It must crackle under your teeth.

Step 2: The avocado — Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into a bowl with a spoon. Mash it with a fork — never a blender. It should stay rustic, with irregular chunks that give texture. Add a drizzle of oil, Maldon salt, a generous squeeze of lemon and mix.

Step 3: The poached egg — Bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer with a tablespoon of white vinegar. Create a soft whirlpool with a spoon and lower the egg into the centre. Cook for exactly 3 minutes, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and rest it on kitchen paper. The yolk must stay soft and creamy: that's the magic moment when you cut into it on the toast.

Step 4: Assembly — Spread the mashed avocado generously over the toasted bread. Lay the slices of smoked salmon creating little waves. Gently place the poached egg in the centre. Finish with mixed toasted seeds, a turn of freshly ground black pepper and a final drizzle of oil.

The Garden's secret

What makes our avocado toast different from all the others you try around Pordenone and beyond? The answer is in the invisible details. **Temperature**: the bread must be freshly toasted, the avocado at room temperature, the salmon cold from the fridge and the egg warm. This thermal contrast in every bite creates a complexity few notice consciously but everyone perceives.

And then there's **the balance of flavours**: the acidity of the lemon on the avocado balances the richness of the salmon. The flaky Maldon salt gives bursts of savouriness instead of a uniform saltiness. The creamy yolk ties everything together like an embrace. Nothing is by chance.

Come and try it at The Garden

You can try to recreate it at home following these steps — and it'll turn out delicious. But if you want the original, the one that made half of Pordenone fall in love, you know where to find us. We're waiting for you in our garden, with a specialty cappuccino on the side and all the calm in the world.