Avo Time

RECIPES & IMAGES EMMA GALLOWAY

Perfectly ripe avocado, slippery noodles and fresh herbs pair perfectly with a spicy sesame oil-laced dressing made using Korean gochujang paste. You’ll find thin dried rice noodles at Asian supermarkets, along with the gochujang paste and toasted sesame oil too. If you eat gluten-free, make sure you check the ingredients on the gochujang paste as some contain wheat flour. To make this into a more substantial meal, serve with chunks of pan-fried or roasted tofu.

Serves 4

½ packet (approx. 200g) thin dried rice noodles

½ telegraph cucumber, sliced into thin strips

a generous handful coriander leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped

1 spring onion, finely sliced

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, plus extra to serve

1 perfectly ripe avocado, quartered and sliced thinly

¼ cup (60ml) gochujang paste*

3 tbsp rice vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp brown rice malt syrup

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

salt, to taste

Place rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with freshly boiled water, set aside 20-25 minutes or until soft. Drain well.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Season with salt, to taste.

Mix half the dressing through the drained noodles, along with the cucumber, coriander, spring onion and sesame seeds. Arrange in bowls, top with avocado slices and scatter with extra sesame seeds and serve with extra dressing on the side. Any leftover dressing will keep in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

*Gochujang paste is a Korean fermented chilli paste made from chilli, glutinous rice and soy.

The addition of avocado lends a natural creaminess to these barely sweet lime-kissed ice blocks. To make these vegan, use brown rice malt syrup in place of the honey (add 1-2 tablespoons extra as it’s not quite as sweet). This recipe can be easily halved to just make 6, if you like.

Makes 12

2 large perfectly ripe avocados

400ml tin good quality coconut cream

4 tbsp honey

juice of ½ lime

Place the avocado flesh, coconut cream, honey and lime juice into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Transfer to ice block moulds, insert wooden sticks and freeze 4 hours or overnight. Run moulds under warm water to help release ice blocks.

Emma Galloway | mydarlinglemonthyme.com | @mydarlinglemonthyme

Emma Galloway is a former chef, food photographer and creator of the multi-award winning food blog My Darling Lemon Thyme. Emma has published two cookbooks, My Darling Lemon Thyme and A Year in My Real Food Kitchen. She lives in her hometown of Raglan, with her husband and two children.