An avocado affair

Salads and sandwiches. That’s what instantly comes to mind when we think of avocado. These fruits contain nutrients, are rich in Vitamin C, help maintain healthy weight and lower cholesterol, are a powerful antioxidant, are great for the skin and help protect your liver.

The avocado, which has been recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the most nutritious fruit in the world, can be used in innovative culinary styles. Here are a few examples.

Avocado Soup

2 avocados

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup lemon juice

Fresh ground pepper

Salt to taste

Puree avocado with lemon juice and stock in blender. Heat gently until hot, but do not boil. Season and add cream before serving.

The garlic should be soft enough to squeeze from its skins. Roughly mash the avocado in a bowl and fold in the roasted garlic, lemon juice, crushed fresh garlic (optional), fresh and dried herbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a variety of dipping breads and biscuits.

Avocado and Chicken Tortillas

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup lime juice

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small jalapeno chilli, seeded and finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

2 avocados

2 small plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 finely chopped red onion

- Dash of Tabasco sauce

8 small tortillas, white or wholemeal

Avocado and Mushroom Fettuccine

1 large avocado, sliced

- Juice of 1 lemon

250g fettuccine

1 tbsp prepared pesto sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 sliced onion

4 sliced garlic cloves

200g sliced mushrooms

2 tsp salt reduced soy sauce

- Pepper - Whole or shredded basil leaves to garnish

- Lemon wedges to serve

Place the avocados on a plate and drizzle with lemon juice. Cook fettuccine in a large pan of water, to the desired consistency. Heat the oil and stir-fry the onion for one minute over a mediumhigh heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking, stirring for two minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir

By Sheryl Dixit

4 shots of tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Blanch the corn in boiling water for 3 minutes, then mix together with all the remaining ingredients in a suitably sized bowl. Serve as a compliment to seafood, eg. shrimp. Can be refrigerated for up to three days.

Asian noodles with avocado

560g Asian noodles cooked as per pack

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips

4 sliced garlic cloves

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Oyster sauce

2 sliced spring onions

2 avocado

1/2 sprig fresh coriander

Heat sesame oil and vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan. Add ginger and garlic, fry for 30 seconds, then add cooked noodles and stir fry. Pit and peel avocado and cut into chunks. Add onion, avocado, soy and oyster sauce to the noodles and stir fry for a further minute or until all ingredients are well combined and hot. Serve garnished with fresh coriander. Cooked chicken or prawns can also be added to the stir fry.

Avocado and Prawn Salad

2 avocodos, just ripe

1 cup red capsicum strips

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

- Juice of 1 lime

- Salt and pepper to taste

11/2 tbsp chives, chopped

100 gms baby spinach leaves

1 kg cooked prawns, peeled and deveined

11/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Can be served hot or cold. If serving cold, there’s no need to cook the soup, just puree as above and add seasonings and cream.

Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Avocado and Roast Garlic Dip

1 whole garlic flower

11/2 avocados

2 tsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed fine - Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to hot. Cut about 1cm from the top of the garlic flower and brush cut surfaces with oil. Place in a baking pan and roast for about 20 minutes.

4 wedges of lime - Salt to taste in soy sauce and pepper. Toss the freshly cooked fettuccine with the pesto sauce, mushrooms, and the avocado slices. Serve immediately with basil and lemon wedges.

Marinade the chicken breasts with half of lime juice, garlic, chilli pepper and half chopped coriander and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut the avocados into cubes; add tomatoes, red onion, remaining lime juice, chopped coriander and Tabasco sauce. Add salt to taste, cover and refrigerate.

Drain the chicken and cook in a casserole for 10-15 minutes. Cut cooked chicken into strips. Spread the avocado mix on the tortillas. Place the chicken strips in the middle of the tortillas and sprinkle with lime juice. Fold the tortillas over the filling. Tortillas can be grilled in a sandwich press, if required.

Avocado and Corn Salsa

3 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced into large cubes.

2 cups of corn kernels

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lime juice

1/4 cup freshly chopped oregano

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp chilli powder

Slice up avocados into a large bowl. Add chopped chives and sprinkle with salt and pepper; drizzle lemon juice over. Toss gently to combine.

Mix capsicum strips with sweet chilli sauce in a separate bowl.

Arrange spinach leaves on a large platter. Place prawns and avocados on the leaves. Along the top, arrange the capsicum strips attractively (such as in a single central line across the length of the platter).

Sprinkle some more chopped chives over the top.

Drizzle with oil. (Try some flavoured olive oil if you can find it, such as a lemoninfused variety).

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