Avocadoes

[SobaAddict70]

Sometimes I like to make an avocado shake, whenever the mood strikes me for something cold and creamy that can double as either a dessert or as a pick-me-up. This drink is common in the Philippines, so it was a bit of a culture shock, growing up in the US, at seeing avocadoes in salads and as guacamole.

Try it, you'll like it.

Avocado Shake (serves 1)

1 ripe Haas avocado

Milk

Sugar

Crushed ice

Sweetened condensed milk (optional)

Heavy cream (optional)

Pit and scoop avocado out of its shell. Mash, and mix with milk and sugar. (Add proportions to taste. I like to undersweeten, especially if I'm going to add condensed milk.)

Pour avocado mixture into a blender, add crushed ice, and either sweetened condensed milk and/or heavy cream, and blend until thoroughly incorporated.

What are your favorite recipes or dishes involving avocadoes?

SA

[mhadam]

Soba -- the shake sounds great. We will have it tonight with dinner. Thank you

I can eat avocadoes by the dozen. Cut in half, remove pit, sprinkle a it of salk, crank a bit of pepper over it and nosh with spoon.

too bad they are so expensive now...*pout* don't buy them as often as I'd like *damn frost*

[Jinmyo]

I like to keep it simple.

Slice in half, hache (cross-hatch), pool of shoyu (soy sauce) with a bit of tuna or salmon tartare in the hollow with a few strands of lime zest. Or sliced the same but with taramasalata (cured cod roe mixed with frsh mayo) in the hollow. Or a green chile salsa in the hollow and scoop it with fresh corn tortilla chips. (I buy the tortilla and just slice and crisp them on the flat top with corn oil, crunchy salt, and powdered ancho.)

ediot:

Look! I can't spell "fresh".

[Suvir Saran]

For one that loves avocadoes.. .the three posts above are making my salivary glands work overtime.

[Suvir Saran]

Jinmyo I also have a similar recipe.

I use just a very little of the avocado from each half.. leaving a generous amount still attached to the peel, and cut what I take into very small pieces and mix into the salmon tartare. In the tartare I also have a tiny amount of crisp and very finely minced chilled red onions and cilantro and some mint. Lemon and lime, cayenne and some toasted cumin.

Served with Jaali wafers (waffle cut potato chips, or sometimes when I am lazy, with papadum) it is very tasty and makes many happy.

At times I have also added a tiny amount of hung yogurt, it makes it just a tad creamy.

For that matter, Dean Willis the chef at Pondicherry at its very end, added egg yolk mimosa to the tartare. It gave the tartare an amazing color and also that richness that added a lot to the balance of flavoring. I have borrowed that trick of his and found it a great addition.

[201]

Sometimes I like to make an avocado shake, whenever the mood strikes me for something cold and creamy that can double as either a dessert or as a pick-me-up.  This drink is common in the Philippines, so it was a bit of a culture shock, growing up in the US, at seeing avocadoes in salads and as guacamole.

I love avocado shakes and generally get them at Vietnamese restaurants (where I was first introduced to them). Thanks to your recipe though, I'm one step closer to having them at home!

[Ron Johnson]

My favorite Vietnamese restaurant serves these. They are fantastic and the perfect antidote to the really hot and spicy dishes served there. Thanks for the recipe Soba.

[cakewalk]

I can eat avocadoes by the dozen. Cut in half, remove pit, sprinkle a it of salk, crank a bit of pepper over it and nosh with  spoon. 

Yes, and just a bit of lemon juice. Straight to the jugular. Yum.

I never ate avocadoes until I moved to Israel, where I used to buy them by the kilo. In NY they're close to two bucks apiece! Scandalous. Thanks for that recipe, Soba, that's a "must do."

[Suvir Saran]

My friend Ruth in LA, a consummate gourmet if I know one.... has trees of avocadoes ( I am very jealous for my tree only seems to grow more leaves.. no fruit yet.. 6 years later) and she got me used to spreading avocado with sel de mer on toast for breakfast. I add some lime juice and cayenne. It is better than butter on toast...

[Rhea_S]

I'm a fan of avocado and cream cheese sandwiches - nutty whole wheat bread, lots of sprouts (preferably spicy radish sprouts), avocado slices, a little cream cheese and s&p. I don't think I've ever used avocados for anything else other than sandwiches, shakes, salads and guacamole.

[FoodMan]

Soba-

Growing up in Lebanon, I also was familiar with Avocados more as a dessert fruit rather than a savory one until I settled in the US and was introduced to other uses for it. In Lebanon Avocados are blened with a little cold whole milk and honey in the blender until creamy but not liquidy. then they are served chilled in cups like a custard and topped with chopped nuts (usually almonds and walnuts), "aishta" (whole milk cream) and a drizzle of honey. The first time I served this for my wife and her family it was a real culture shock for them

FM

Edited to fix spelling

[mhadam]

Haven't thought of this till after lunch...my second favorite way to have avocadoes....in california rolls.

Especially when the avocadoes are soft and ripe and slightly sweet, a perfect contrast to crisp cucumbers and the crab.... mmmmm

[Jaymes]

Cold Avocado Soup

[torakris]

Avocados have got be one of my favorite foods. They go with almost everything, I can make a kind of avocado salad to match whatever type of cuisine I happen to be cooking.

My most often used avocado in an instant dish is avocado slices with wasabijoyu (mixture of soy and wasabi paste).

I also love avocado soups and sandwiches (multigrain bread with avocado, sprouts, lettuce and grainy mustard, Ia dd smoked salmon if I ahve it in the house.

I also love the combo of avocado and sashimi/sushi, sometimes I wish the california roll would become popular in Japan.

The price have come down quite a bit, less than $1 a piece so I buy them almost every time I go to the store.

[Bouland]

After eating avocados like other fruit — raw, out of hand — my favorite way is as a warm soup called velouté d'avocat. It's very quick to make and lucious to eat.

[Jaymes]

In NY they're close to two bucks apiece! Scandalous.

I buy avocados at Sam's. They're nice and big and very affordable. Don't know if you have Sam's where you are, but you might try Costco, if you have that. Or other large food wholesaler.

[monkeymay]

My friend Ruth in LA, a consummate gourmet if I know one.... has trees of avocadoes ( I am very jealous for my tree only seems to grow more leaves.. no fruit yet.. 6 years later) and she got me used to spreading avocado with sel de mer on toast for breakfast.  I add some lime juice and cayenne.  It is better than butter on toast...

Growing up in LA we always ate avocados on sourdough toast for breakfast - one of the favorite memories of my childhood It's also one of the first foods I ever fed my babies.

My current indulgence: mashed avocado on garlic naan with shaved ricotta salata, a drizzle of evoo, and the last of the heirloom tomatoes from my garden.

S&P. crushed chili pepper. Divine.

Trader Joe's generally sells a 4 count of Hass for about $3.89.

[SobaAddict70]

Has anyone ever heard of someone using avocado in a souffle or a savory custard?

It seems to me that this is one substance that lends itself highly to either of those two preparations.

SA

[gknl]

I've had avocado ice cream that was pretty good. Subtle. It was at Polly Ann's in the Sunset District of San Francisco. Does Mitchell's make one too?

I do really enjoy them similarly to what's been posted already, on toast or bread, in sandwiches, straight out of the shell. . . . I would only add avocado bacon cheeseburgers to the list.

I can't think of any avocado dishes I've had where there were cooked though. Interesting thought.

Aren't there souffles that are served with a scoop (oops quenelle) of ice cream in the middle? Maybe that would work with avocado too. Avocado souffle with avocado ice cream or ice, wouldn't necessarily have to be sweet.

[SobaAddict70]

I occasionally puree it with roasted garlic and EVOO, and use the resulting mixture, along with a little pasta cooking water and a little chopped fresh oregano as the basis for an uncooked pasta sauce.

Great with penne rigati or orrechiette.

SA

[Dave the Cook]

Has anyone ever heard of someone using avocado in a souffle or a savory custard?

It seems to me that this is one substance that lends itself highly to either of those two preparations.

SA

I was thinking this, too. But there is so much fat in avocado (sorry to bring it up!) that it would be a tricky business. Not that it's not worth trying...

By the way, I have to thank all of you, not just for an interesting thread, but for making me consider avocados in a new way. I have always thought of it as a vegetable. But last night, I made guacamole for my wife's office party. When I tasted it, it was OK, but didn't quite harmonize. With this thread and it's "avocado is a fruit" mantra on my mind, I added a pinch of sugar--not enough to taste explicity, but what I thought was enough to have an impact. What a difference! The whole thing came together--the lime juice softened, the veg note of the jalapeno perked up, the onion became more of an underpinning, and the whole thing was more well, avocaddish. I was stunned.

Raves all around at the party today. Thanks again.

[Jaymes]

Years ago I attended a potluck with a Caribbean theme. For dessert I took Avocado Pie. As I recall, it was a kind of custard, although sweet. It was very very good. Jamaican, I think. I'm not sure what happened to the cookbook I found it in, but I was told it was a traditional Island recipe. Could have been back in the original Time/Life Foods of the World series (this was a looooong time ago).

Don't remember exactly, but it was avocados, sugar, evap milk, eggs and the traditional "pumpkin pie" spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, I think. You added a little cornstarch, poured it into an uncooked regular pie shell and baked it.

It was a smash hit as I recall.

I made it several times after that first one....and have seen quite a few mentions of avocado pie through the years.

Edit: If anyone's interested, I'm sure you could find something similar on Google.....

[nervousnelli]

Why is it that only Haas and Florida avocados are readily available in the market when there are about a hundred other avocado varieties. One I've been looking for is called "Fuertes" I think. Any info on purveyers of the more unusual types of this fruit?

[guajolote]

How do use avacados besides in salads and as guacamole?

Here's a recipe from Las Mananitas in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Sopa de Aguacate

2 avacados

1 cup chicken broth

1 serrano chile

salt.

blend until smooth and strain. It should be the consistency of creme fraiche. They would serve it in a copper bowl which was in a larger bowl of ice. I had to bribe the waiter to get this recipe.

My wife once had a dish in Uruapan, Mexico, which was called pollo en aguacate. It was a chicken breast in a hot (temperature) avacado sauce. Any ideas? Uruapan is known as the "Avacado capital of the world."

[Dave the Cook]

Previous avocado thread here.