Ten things you didn't know avocado could do
Avocado is delicious eaten ripe with a little salt. But you'd be amazed at what else it can do.
Become an eggcup
Eggcups are all very well and good, but you can turn an avocado into two cups for a tasty brunch. Just crack the raw egg into the pitted fruit, and bake the whole thing for around 15 minutes, serving with a little cracked black pepper on top. A watercress and chorizo salad sits underneath.
Or another 'cup'
If eggs aren't your thing, why not try the same approach but make yourself a fresh beetroot salsa instead? Take out the stone, and dice up your beetroot, tomatoes, shallots and coriander. Finish up your salsa and fill the hole in your avocado – and your appetite.
Pair up with bacon
Andy Bates reckons that bacon and avocado are a killer pair, only made better by the inclusion of bacon jam in this gobsmacking sandwich. The maple syrup and a grated cooking apple supply the sweetness, while avocado and bacon satisfy savoury cravings.
Sit well with strawberries
Avocados and strawberries can be paired up with peppery rocket leaves and finely sliced shallots to make this summery salad. Avocado's neutral flavour sits in the middle ground between the sour shallots and sweet honey and lemon dressing, and it soaks all of this up before giving it back tenfold.
Make a cake
You can use avocado to make 'icing' mixed with lime juice and sweetened with agave nectar. Brush it liberally over soft sponge to give your cake a unique flavour. Top with kiwi fruit slices for their bittersweet tang. Perhaps it's still not 'healthy' but it certainly looks and tastes different to your classic sponge.
Enhance a Caesar salad
While purist fans of this classic salad won't be impressed, chunks of avocado add a smooth texture that complements the crispy cos lettuce leaves perfectly. The dressing is regular Caesar: anchovies, garlic and white wine vinegar, all of which work extremely well with the avocado. Top with crispy croutons and parmesan shavings.
Go to a party
Avocado is seen at parties, to be fair, but mostly in the form of guacamole. As great as that is, avocado can also star with salmon in these rich and colourful canapés. You can use whichever herbs to garnish each you fancy; dill might be a good starting place. A few thyme leaves and ground black pepper works too.
Be a key part of salsa
As per the last suggestion, avocado is closely associated with guacamole. Guacamole is delicious, and we have a great recipe here for it, but why not do the unexpected and use it in a salsa instead? Jo Pratt serves it with spicy potato wedges and a fried egg, so you have an extra dipping option.
This cucumber soup relies on avocado and yoghurt for its creamy texture. It's an unusual soup, as you use sherry vinegar and tamarind purée to flavour the milky concoction, as well as diced apple and cucumber – and even a little ginger. Serve it cold on a hot day with crackers.
Be part of a pasta salad
This pasta salad uses avocado, which isn't completely unheard of but it's still a bit of an oddity. Torn mint leaves and chopped chilli give plenty of reason to keep chomping away at the unusual but pleasantly soft textures. Top it off with moreish feta cheese or a goat's cheese of your choice.
This is a classic loveFOOD article
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