The first cut into an avocado is always a bit of a gamble. Will it be brown and mushy? Slightly too hard? Will it get used before it goes gross? Use our handy tips and yummy recipes to get it right every time.
The first cut into an avocado is always a bit of a gamble. Will it be brown and mushy? Slightly too hard? Will it get used before it goes gross? Use our handy tips and yummy recipes to get it right every time
Avocado and Summer Tomato Salad
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 avocados, halved and skin removed
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered, deseeded, finely diced
- 1/2 bunch shallots, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch rocket leaves, rinsed
- 1/2 cup baby black olives
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded, finely diced
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine dressing ingredients in a small jar with lid and shake well.
Place the tomato, shallots, cucumber and basil in a small bowl; add the dressing and mix to combine.
Drizzle the lemon juice over the avocado halves. Use a small knife to remove a 2-3mm slice of the rounded side of the avocado half.
Place the avocado halves on serving plates, and divide the tomato salad equally among the 4 avocado halves. Garnish with rocket leaves and black olives.
Warm Tuna Nicoise Salad with Fresh Avocado
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
- 800g tuna fillet, cut into steaks
- 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
- 20g garlic, chopped
- 50g mesclun leaves
- 200g green beans, blanched
- 300g pontiac potatoes, sliced and blanched
- 5 eggs, semi hard boiled, peeled and cut into quarters
- 200g kalamata olives
- 120g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 1/2 avocados, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
- 50g dijon mustard
- 100ml red wine vinegar
- 1 shallot
- 750ml olive oil
- 10 egg yolks
- Salt and pepper to taste
Season tuna with garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, place onto a hot grill and cook until medium, set aside then flake
Arrange mesclun leaves, beans, potatoes, eggs, olives, tomatoes and avocado onto a plate, top with tuna and dressing.
Whisk egg yolks, vinegar, shallot and mustard together slowly add olive oil until creamy and season.
Hulk Smoothie
Serves: 3
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 avocado
- 1/2 banana
- 1 and 1/2 cups of milk
- 2 heaped tablespoons of full cream yoghurt
Scoop out most of the avocado. Peel banana, break in half and put in blender. Add milk and yoghurt and blend until combined.
Avocado and Coconut Starter
Serves: 30
Prep Time: Minimal
Ingredients
- 100g butter
- 1 leek, washed and sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 L chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 avocados, halved and peeled
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 100ml coconut cream to garnish
Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the leeks and garlic without colour until soft.
Add the stock and bring to the boil, add avocado, parsley and season.
Place into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in shot glasses and garnish with a spoon full of coconut cream.
Guacamole
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 1 ripe medium avocado
- 1 small red onion (grated or very finely chopped)
- 2 tomatoes (de-seeded then finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mash together avocado and onion. Combine lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into serving dish and top with cubes of tomato. Serve immediately.
Dry skin mask
A revitalising masque that’s gentle on dry, sensitive skin and improves skin texture.
Beat the yolk of an egg until light and frothy. Blend in the mashed pulp of half a ripe avocado till smooth and creamy. Cleanse your face and neck thoroughly, pat dry and apply the mixture evenly. Lie down and relax for about 20 minutes. Remove with tepid water and a soft face cloth, followed by a cold water rinse or a mild skin lotion.
Oily skin mask
The monounsaturated fat in avocados won’t clog pores, making it ideal for oily skin types.
Blend the white of an egg with one teaspoon fresh lemon juice and the mashed pulp of half a ripe avocado until frothy green. Cleanse your face and neck thoroughly, pat dry and apply mask evenly. Lie down and relax for about 20 minutes. Remove with clear tepid water and a soft face cloth, followed by a cold astringent or skin tonic.
Seven things you didn’t know about avocados
- The Guinness Book of World Records lists avocados as the most nutritionally complete fruit in the world
- Avocados can be used in warm dishes – try stirring cubed avocado through cooked pasta
- Avocados contain essential fatty acids, which can help to reduce cholesterol deposits
- Avocados are a perfect first food for babies going on to solids
- Avocados contain more potassium per serve than bananas
- There are more than 500 varieties of avocado. Hass is the most common commercial variety grown in New Zealand.
- You can freeze freshly mashed ripe avocados if you want to have an emergency supply of avocados on hand for guacamole
Choosing, ripening and storing avocados
- Never squeeze an avocado – you are damaging them
- Choose based on colour. Bright green is not ripe, olive green has 2-3 days to go, browny green is good for slicing and dicing, brown is good for mashing
- Do not choose a black avocado – it is past its best
- Ripen avocados by placing in your fruit bowl. Once ripe, avocados will store in the fridge for a few days
- Left over avocado can be kept in the fridge by squeezing over lemon juice and wrapping in cling film. If a brown layer forms, simply scrape off
Using avocados quickly
- Stir cubed avocado through an omelette with tomato and cheese or into scrambled egg
- Mash up on toast with tomato and feta cheese
- Top a cooked pizza with slices of avocado
- Use in mashed potato in place of butter
- Top grilled chicken with diced avocado and crumbled feta
