This green, creamy fruit is omnipresent in the food world at the moment: you’ll find it in Antipodean-style brunches, vegan desserts, grain bowls, salads, smoothies ... and for good reason. As if proof of the fruit’s versatility were needed, here are six of your finest recipes.
Colonial Cravings’ grilled peach and avocado salad is perfect for marking the last days of summer. The balance of sweet fruit, creamy avocado and garlicky dressing sits well with roast chicken. Elsewhere, Frichens’ marinated feta and avocado salad has an aniseed zip that livens up the avo-feta combination. Another classic – smashed avocado on toast – was given a new spin by Brinda with the addition of preserved lemon, salty halloumi and smoked paprika. For fans of gazpacho, ElleZumbido’s cold summer soup with fragrant herbs, avocado, fennel and cucumber makes a refreshing light lunch, and Marmaduke Scarlet’s monsoon summer rolls had a real California-by-way-of-Vietnam flavour.
The winner this week, though is Bobby Ananta’s chocolate, rum and avocado dessert. It’s a delightful spin on Indonesian avocado juice that tastes like an indulgent pudding. If you’ve never braved an avocado dessert before, this is the one to try.
The winning recipe: Indonesian avocado dessert
Avocado in Indonesia is more often served as part of a mixed-fruit co*cktail. This recipe makes a great dessert: creamy and rich with an added kick from rum. If it weren’t green, you’d never guess what was in it.
Bobby Ananta, Leicester
Serves 2
2 large ripe avocados
60ml dark rum
75ml almond milk
120ml vanilla syrup
2-3 ice cubes
Dark chocolate sauce, to serve
Grated dark chocolate, to serve
1 In a blender, blitz the flesh of the avocado, dark rum, almond milk, vanilla syrup and ice until smooth.
2 Drizzle some dark chocolate sauce in the bottom of a brandy glass, add the smooth avocado mix, drizzle more dark chocolate sauce and then top with some grated dark chocolate. Serve immediately.
Avocado, halloumi and preserved lemon on toast
Avocado on toast is so delicious, with its buttery, creamy taste, but I decided to be a little more creative and add preserved lemon.
Brinda, Banstead, Surrey
Serves 2
1 large ripe avocado
Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp smoked paprika
125g halloumi, sliced
2 thick slices of ciabatta or sourdough, toasted
½ preserved lemon, thinly sliced
1 Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and peel off the skin. Take half the avocado and mash it lightly with a fork. Drizzle with a little olive oil and the lime juice, then season with salt and pepper.
2 Sprinkle with the smoked paprika, and mix together. Slice the other half of the avocado lengthways.
3 Heat a griddle pan, then fry the halloumi in a little oil for a few minutes each side, until golden.
4 To serve, spread the toast with the mashed avocado, then arrange the halloumi on top, followed by the sliced avocado, preserved lemon and another drizzle of olive oil.
Grilled peach and avocado salad
I love this salad with some torn-up milky mozzarella or creamy ricotta, but it’s equally yummy with a crumbling of Roquefort and some salty prosciutto.
ColonialCravings, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
2 peaches, washed and sliced into 8
100-150g mixed salad leaves
1 large or 2 small avocados, sliced
100g cheese of your choosing
6-8 pieces of prosciutto (optional)
For the dressing
A large handful of basil leaves
½ small garlic clove
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper
1 Preheat a griddle pan and very lightly oil the peaches. Carefully lay the peach slices on the pan and let them char a little for a minute or two before turning them over to char the other side, then let cool for a little.
2 Put the dressing ingredients in a small blender and blitz until smooth.
3 Toss the salad leaves in a little of the dressing (but not all of it) and put them in a serving bowl. Arrange the peaches over the leaves, followed by the avocado.
4 Next crumble or tear the cheese into the bowl along with the prosciutto (if using). Lastly, drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve.
Marinated feta and avocado salad
This salad can be prepared in a flash and brings together some of my favourite things: velvety avocado, rich spinach and salty feta. Marinating the feta is a nice way of bringing new flavours into the dish, and the aniseed of the fennel, together with the tangy feta and toasty walnuts, meld into something new and delicious.
Frichens, via GuardianWitness
Serves 2
1 tsp fennel seeds
75g feta, cubed
Zest of ½ a lemon
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
10 walnuts
100g baby leaf spinach, roughly chopped
2 small avocados, peeled, stones removed and roughly chopped
For the dressing
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 Start by marinating the feta. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, dry-roast the fennel seeds for a minute or so. Crush roughly in a pestle and mortar. Put the feta in a bowl with the fennel seeds, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil.
2 Toast the walnuts in the same pan, until just beginning to char. Roughly chop and then set aside.
3 Divide the spinach between two plates, then whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and check that the balance is to your taste.
4 Divide the avocado between the plates, then dot with the feta and spoon over the dressing. Finish with the chopped walnuts.
Avocado and prawn monsoon summer rolls
I love playing with my food, especially making Vietnamese-style summer rolls with rice paper sheets. I am quite cack-handed and the soaked sheets can be a bit sticky. It took me a few goes to get the handle on rolling the rolls without tearing them. But no matter; every disaster still tasted good.
Marmaduke Scarlet, via email
Serves 4
10-12 Vietnamese rice papers wrappers
12 large cooked prawns, peeled and halved (through the middle)
1 avocado, finely sliced
½ small cucumber, halved, de-seeded and very finely sliced
1 red onion, halved and very finely sliced
50g rice vermicelli, cooked
Large handful of bean sprouts
Fresh coriander
Sweet chilli dipping sauce, to serve
1 Find a tray or dish that is bigger than your rice paper. Fill with water. Submerge a sheet of rice paper in the water for no more than 3 minutes, then remove and pat dry.
2 Place 3 prawn halves in a line about 5 cm from the bottom of the sheet, leaving a margin of about 3 cm.
3 Top with a couple of slices of avocado, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Bring the bottom of the rice paper sheet up to cover the filling. Bring one side in and over. Begin to roll gently. Don’t force it as the wrapper may tear.
4 When the rolls have been assembled, cut in half on the diagonal and serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Cold summer soup
The blog Green Kitchen Stories and food writer Diana Henry both have great recipes for chilled soups: this is my take. The seeds add extra crunch and a good dose of protein.
ElleZumbido, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
⅓ of a fennel bulb, finely chopped
500ml cold water
½ cucumber, roughly chopped
1 large avocado, peeled, stone removed and chopped
Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
A large handful dill, chopped
A large handful mint, chopped
Black pepper, to taste
20g toasted pumpkin and hemp seeds (optional)
1 Put the fennel and water in a blender and blitz until there are no pieces of fennel left.
2 Add the cucumber, avocado, lemon juice and zest, oil, salt, and herbs (reserving a few fronds of dill and leaves of mint for the garnish) and blitz again until you have a smooth consistency. Taste and season with the black pepper.
3 Chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge so that it’s very cold. Serve with a drizzle of oil, a sprinkling of salt, some dill and mint and a few seeds.
