Recipe of the Week: Bacon, Lettuce and Avocado Sandwich with Paprika Aioli

Is there anything more Californian than the avocado? Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have fresh, creamy avocados readily at our disposal in Foster City. One of my friends visited from the East Coast last winter, and boarded her plane back to the snowy region with a bag full of avocados.

However, I'm the rare person who utterly despises tomatoes, so substituting avocado for tomatoes in the traditional BLT is one of my favorite California traditions (or you could just add the avocado in with the tomato, creating one of the more fun sandwiches names --- the BLAT.) Turkey bacon keeps things on the healthy side, but feel free to indulge in the real stuff if you can't resist. For the finishing touch, kick things up with an easy, quick aioli.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of whole grain bread, lightly toasted

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 cup spinach or mixed greens

6 slices of bacon, turkey or otherwise

6 tablespoons of mayo (I really like Kraft Reduced Fat Olive Oil)

2 teaspoons paprika

Juice of one small lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. First, mix up your aioli. Combine the mayo, paprika, lemon juice, garlic and sea salt, and refrigerate.
2. Cook the bacon. Here's my fool proof method for crispy bacon with minimal mess: Place the bacon on a cooling rack. Put the cooling rack on a sheet pan, and place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 400 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes until crisp. The cooling rack allows the grease to drip into the pan without making the bacon soggy. Pat with paper towels to remove excess grease.
3. Assemble your sandwiches. Spread with paprika aioli, topped with bacon, avocado and spinach. Cut in half, and enjoy!