I’M BACK!!!!!! (In case you wondered, couldn’t tell or didn’t care. ;)) San Juan was great and we had a blast with new flavors, old favorites and new sites. I love the combination of citrus and seafood. It is a match made in heaven.

Baby Lady is an avocado fiend. She would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’ve made ice cream out of it (that’s another post and Baby Lady says she wouldn’t have made it or tired it if it weren’t for me but that is another story, too). It works as a serving vessel as in Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Avocado with Tomato Ceviche Sauce. Guacamole is everyone’s favorite and it is fabulous with ceviche. There are a lot of things to do with an avocado. What do you do with grapefruit? You can serve it for breakfast. You can juice it. You can make a gelatin salad with it and even desserts but as a main course??????? Obviously, inasmuch as avocados go with citrus, salads and fish, grapefruit works well. Then let’s throw in some nuttiness from some pignoli, some earthiness and spice from some hot paprika, a little acid and sparkle from the lime, then a little freshness from some fresh basil and this is what you get. A nice medley in your mouth, everything in balance…

Ingredients

• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• ¼ cup plus ½ tablespoon Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 Red Snapper skinless fillets, ¾ pound each
• Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ripe avocado
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 grapefruit, rind removed, flesh segmented and finely diced
• ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• Several pinches hot paprika
• 2 tablespoons micro celery (or minced celery)

Prepare

In a small bowl, combine the basil with ¼ cup Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Whisk to blend the mixture until some, but not all, of the basil is puréed. Set the basil oil aside to rest. Generously season the red snapper with salt and pepper. In a nonstick pan over high heat, cook the red snapper in ½ tablespoon of Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil oil until done, 2 minutes per side.  Immediately remove the fillets from the pan. Cut the avocado (with rind intact) into quarters, discarding the pit. Slice each quarter diagonally into thin strips. Taking care not to mash them, separate the avocado strips from the rind, and fan out the slices in a single layer on a plate. Sprinkle with lime juice, and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the grapefruit, basil oil and pine nuts. Gently mix, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set the grapefruit-basil salad aside.

To serve:

Fan a quarter of the avocado slices on each plate. Sprinkle ¼ tablespoon sea salt and a pinch of hot Paprika over the avocado. Lay the red snapper on top of avocado and garnish the fish with ½ tablespoon of micro celery. Spoon a quarter of the grapefruit basil salad on top of each filet. Serve and Enjoy.