Ever since I purchased my first collection of Sylvia Plath poems in high school, I have been absolutely entranced by the lyrical prose and verses of New England native Sylvia Plath. My copy of her unabridged journals has been loved to near tatters, and I’ve even been known to pay casual visits to her childhood home whenever I find myself in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.
Though I admit the heart-wrenching story of Esther Greenwood isn’t one that immediately comes to mind when I think of my favorite culinary moments in literature, I’ve been nursing a bit of an avocado craving lately, and luckily, Plath’s novel was the right place to look! For the next installment of my literary recipes series, I’m whipping up an avocado salad inspired by The Bell Jar.
Early in the book, Esther indulges in stuffed avocados at a luncheon in New York. Paired with “overstewed coffee so bitter it made (her) nose curl,” the meal leads her to reminisce about the avocados her grandfather used to steal for her as a child.
To make Esther’s Ladies’ Day banquet dish for yourself, just combine lump crab, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and old bay seasoning together before scooping the mixture into the hollows of halved avocados. Unlike Esther’s overstewed coffee, this simple snack is delicate and refreshing! Bon appétit!
