Pour Stuff Into the Avocado Hole

I have always appreciated the neatness of an avocado. Once halved, you can scoop the creamy green flesh directly from the skin, which functions as its own little bowl. But the innate functionality of the avocado doesn’t end there — as clever commenter Allan Smitheel points out, once you remove the pit, you have a perfect little indentation for holding sauce, dressing, or whatever flavorful liquid you desire:

As someone who usually prefers scooping — rather than slicing — an avocado, this is something that greatly appeals to me. The liquid redistributes itself as you scoop, seasoning each portion of the avocado as it comes in contact with it. Add a little garnish, like some microgreens, or diced shallot or scallion, and you have a neat little three-ingredient avocado salad.

The commenter-tested and approved soy sauce is delicious, but a mixture of soy sauce and rice vinegar is sublime. Any vinaigrette will also work, though I recommend something with a lot of acid and salt to balance the creaminess of the avocado’s flesh. In fact, avocados are so rich, you could probably skip the oil portion of the vinaigrette entirely and use an infused vinegar. Seasoned rice vinegar would absolutely slap.

If you’ve never infused vinegar, it’s very easy: Chop up some herbs, roots, or alliums, throw them in some vinegar, and let it sit at room temperature until you can taste whatever you threw in there. (This could be as quick as an hour for tender herbs and alliums.) Pickling brine — such as the liquid from a jar of pickled shallots or onions — would also fit the bill. The only liquids I would avoid are the thick, the viscous, and the overly sweet or rich. Ketchup, for example, would suck, and we are not interested in things that suck.