One Great . . . weekend brunch dish

When you're a food writer, food companies flood your desk like rice fields at harvest. Brochures, press releases - they even send rubber versions of foods to try for attention.

I ignore most of it, although I've been known to turn a rubber blueberry into a projectile on a Friday afternoon. Most of the recipes are about as interesting as a rubber blueberry. But flipping through a brochure from a group called Avocados From Mexico a couple of weeks ago, I had to stop and look at this one.

Steamed avocado? With an egg in the middle? It sounded too weird to be ignored. There's a good reason most recipes don't cook avocado, so the audacity of this begged to be tried.

The result: Slightly softened avocado with a little soft egg yolk makes a combination that's indulgent and surprisingly tasty. The original dish called for making a spicy tomato sauce, but I skipped that in favor of a little salsa from a jar.

It's a neat dish to keep around when you need a special breakfast. Just don't overcook the egg. Rubber isn't good for blueberries or eggs.

Avocado Poached Egg With Diablo Sauce Adapted from Avocados From Mexico.

1 large avocado, ripe but still slightly firm
2 medium eggs
Smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoon salsa, if desired (optional)

Bring about 1 inch of water to boil in a saucepan large enough to hold a steamer basket. Place the steamer basket in the pan (use a colander if you don't have a steamer).

Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and discard the pit. Leave the peel on, but cut a very thin sliver from the bottom of each half to make a flat bottom. If the hole where the pit was is small, use a spoon to make it just a little larger.

Place each avocado half peel-side down in the steamer. Crack an egg into each indentation.

Cover the pan and steam until the eggs are poached but still soft in the middle, about 5 or 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove each avocado half to a plate. Sprinkle the egg with a little paprika, salt and pepper. Serve with a little salsa and toast.

Yield: 2 servings.