My fellow Cheesemonger Jimmy is a pillar of healthy living. He works out daily, totes along his latest concocted smoothie for lunch every day, and always has great ideas for healthy snacks. Awhile back, he turned me onto one of his obsessions, Tomato Nduja (pronounced en-DOO-ya) and told me about all of the things he likes to do with it (including eating it straight out of the jar!). When he got to the avocado toast, my eyes got big and appetite even bigger.  

Nduja is typically a mix of various cuts of the pig, mixed with roasted peppers and spices. It is, to say the least, spicy, but totally approachable, and adds the perfect amount of fiery heat to anything you can dream up. This vegetarian option from City Saucery has a slight sweetness from the tomatoes, which gives it a nice balance.  

If your inner carnivore is roaring, by all means swap out the Tomato Nduja for the classic. We carry a great one at the shop from a little company called A Small Good, out of Rockport, ME. Owner Oliver Perkins is making small batch salumi from local ingredients and humanly raised hogs. Whatever Nduja camp you’re in, you will love the way it spices up your avocados, and beyond!  What are you cooking up with Nduja?  Tag us in your Instagram post. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 slices whole grain bread lightly toasted

• 2ripe avocados

• 2 tablespoon Labneh

• 1-2 tablespoons City Saucery Tomato Nduja

• 4 basil leaves

• salt & pepper

Items with an asterisk can be found at The Cheese Shop of Salem!

Directions

1. Cut avocados in half and remove the pit.

2. Scoop out each half of one avocado and mash with salt, pepper and the labneh.  Scoop out the other avocado and cut each half into slices.

3. Spread the Nduja on the toast, followed with the mashed avocado. Arrange the sliced avocado on top. Season to taste, and garnish with basil.  

Serves 2