Years ago, when my parents were visiting from New York, I decided to serve them some avocados. Joe, my dad, was less than enthusiastic having only had unripe, unflavorful avocados up until this point. He remarked upon how he stayed away from avocados at all cost because they were tasteless and held no appeal for him. His opinion was forever changed after I served him a California Haas avocado.
Once it was served up simply diced drizzled with some olive oil, pepper and salt, I thought his head was going to explode. I think he thought I was a magician of some sort because I had picked a perfect avocado. The teacher in him asked me a million questions about why our avocados were so much tastier than any he had eaten before. And, how did I get that pit out so perfectly?
I figured it was because they are grown here and we are lucky enough to have a year-round variety, the Haas avocado, available at all times. The avocados we've had in New York are a harder, taller variety than the Haas. According to this website, I'm thinking Joe is getting something like a Zutano avocado. The taste is much lighter and not quite as creamy as the Haas.
I eat a lot of avocados. I'm also lucky enough to have a group of friends and co-workers who love food as much as I do. We don't work in the food industry, but we all love it. Whenever I'm trying to come up with a recipe for a particular ingredient, I tend to take input from everyone at work. I spend an equal amount of time working with them as I do working on this site, so it makes perfect sense that if I can make something they'll love to eat, we all win.
The egg smash-up is an Israeli dish, I think, that my friend Anastasia started making for us. It's really a simple mix of equal parts hard-boiled egg and avocado, with some salt and pepper. It's great on everything from toasted baguette to rice cakes. It'll keep you going for hours, too, so no need to worry about getting hungry anytime soon!
My friend Robby suggested the smoothie recipe. I was not always a fan of smoothies, but something about the combination of banana and avocado sounded good to me. You can use either regular milk or almond milk here. The almond milk gives it a nice nutty flavor. I don't recommend using rice milk, though, because it's almost too sweet next to the banana and honey. And, the combination of the almond milk, avocado and banana makes the smoothie smell like the beach.
Lastly, my other friend Ari makes a wonderful guacamole. I don't think mine even comes close. But, it does have a great fresh flavor and nice piquant onions to offset the smooth and tangy avocado.
I know when I'm in New York this summer, if I can find some avocados I'm going to break out these recipes and blow Joe's mind.
Avocado Smoothie
INGREDIENTS
- 1 avocado, sliced in half and removed from the skin
- 1 banana, sliced
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon honey
- Ice cubes
PREPARATION
- Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the ice cubes have been completely crushed.
Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time, 0 minutes.
Cook’s note: You can use almond milk or rice milk instead of regular milk.
Avocado Guacamole
INGREDIENTS
- 1 avocado, sliced into cubes and removed from the skin
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, cubed
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
PREPARATION
- In a large bowl, mash the avocado until creamy.
- Stir in the onions, tomato pieces, spices and oil.
- Give the mixture one more run through with the masher.
Serves 4. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time, 0 minutes.
Avocado and Egg Spread
INGREDIENTS
- 1 avocado, sliced in half and removed from the skin
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
PREPARATION
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mash well with a fork.
- Serve on toasted bread.
Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time, 0 minutes.
