Avocados are super healthy, delicious and more versatile than you'd think. Here are some quick and easy ways of using them in cooking.
For a rundown of the various varieties available in South Africa, click here. In a nutshell, the two most popular varieties are Fuerte, available from March to July and Hass, available from May to October.
QUICK TIPS
Wrap a hard avo in a brown paper bag with a ripe banana or apple to ripen more quickly. The ripe fruit gives off ehtylene that hurries the avo's ripening.
Pour boiling water over an unpeeled avocado and count to five. It is said to stop the avocado from discolouring.
Citrus prevents browning. Brush lemon, lime or orange juice over cut surfaces.
MAKING THE MOST OF AVOCADO
- Avocados like chives, coriander, dill and parsley. Ground coriander and cumin are used with avos in Mexican dishes.
- Avocados can be eaten hot as well as cold. They can be used in a hot soup or sauce, or briefly baked. Overheating turns avocado bitter, but timed well, the warm flesh has a lovely texture. Warm avocados filled with creamy scrambled eggs make a good brunch dish.
- In South America, avocados are enjoyed sweet and savoury. Sprinkled with sugar, they are eaten as dessert, or pulped and made into ice cream.
- For a hot avocado sauce, whisk 2 egg yolks, 1/3 cup cream and 3 T fish stock over gentle heat until lightly thickened. Remove from the heat and mix in 1 ripe avocado, blended until smooth and the juice of half a lmeon. Season and serve at room remperature over seared fish or beef steaks.
EASY STARTERS USING AVOCADO
Halve perfectly ripe avos, remove the stone and paint flesh with lemon or lime juice, then proceed with any of the following fillings:
Serve simply with a wedge of lime and Maldon salt.
Add a spoon of thick creme fraiche and top with mock caviar.
Fill with tomato salsa - chop 2 or 3 firm, ripe red tomatoes, 1 or 2 T onion, 1 - 2 fresh hot chillies, seeds in for heat, out for a milder flavour, and 2 - 3 T coriander leaves. Mix together and add a good squeeze of lime juice. Add salt to taste.
Fill with fresh salmon and dill tartare - mix chopped fresh salmon or salmon trout with chopped dil, chopped onion, capers and enough olive oil and lemon juice to moisten. Season to taste.
Fill with chopped hardboiled egg mixed with chives and shipped cream, seaoned to taste.
PAIRING WINE WITH AVOS
The natural partner for dishes with avo is a lovely lemony chardonnay. Avoid the more blowsy butterscotch-type chardonnays which, delicious in themselves, are simply too rich to sit comfortably with avocado dishes. Or go for a lovely dry sauvignon blanc with fresh green pepper flavours to provide a clean contrast to the richness of the avo.
RECIPES USING AVOCADO
NOTES ON AVOCADO OIL
Avocado oil is still something of an unusual product. With a much higher flashpoint than olive oil (about 250°C compared to 180°C), no cholesterol and a delicate nutty flavour, it’s suitable for use in baking, roasting and frying but will equally add zest when drizzled over a salad.
Avocado oils compatibly flavoured with basil, lemon, garlic or chilli can be incorporated into anything requiring the delicate unction of oil. It is another of nature’s super foods, rich in vitamins E and A, cholesterol free and with the kind of polyunsaturated fats that prevent heart disease.