Comments on: All I know is, they're green

Question: All I know is, they're green

konolia — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:17:03 -0800

Avocados. What do you all like to do with them BESIDES guacamole?

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:28:30 -0800

Cut them into salads.

By: beaucoupkevin

beaucoupkevin — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:30:29 -0800

Real simple preparation: avocado, sliced nicely with thin pieces of fresh mozarella and tomatoes and a vinaigrette.

By: hooray

hooray — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:30:56 -0800

Spoon out slices of avocado onto toast. Drizzle olive oil and lemon on top and add fresh ground salt and pepper.

I've also heard that avocado milkshakes are really good.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:31:20 -0800

Also you can serve them as avocado vinaigrette, a half drizzled in vinaigrette. With or without crab in the indentation.

By: paulsc

paulsc — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:31:53 -0800

I serve ripe avocado slices with cream cheese, onion and mushroom omelets. Personally, for this, I like Florida avocados more than the more widely available California Haas varieties, as many Florida versions are larger and sweeter. My omelets have plenty of "heart valve lubricants", already...

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:31:58 -0800

Similar to kevin's: slice them into a quesadilla

By: sueinnyc

sueinnyc — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:32:15 -0800

They are great in salads (as CunningLinguist said). A nearby restaurant makes an incredible crabmeat and avocado salad. I also usually get avocado in my made-to-order salad from the place downstairs at work.

By: neustile

neustile — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:32:53 -0800

Take a spoon, pry the thing open somehow, and eat it. Awesome. Maybe some salt if you're in the mood.

By: ChazB

ChazB — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:33:26 -0800

AFAIK, lots of kinds of sushi use it.

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:33:56 -0800

Quesadillas with corn tortillas and Jack cheese. mmmmm.

By: lannanh

lannanh — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:35:05 -0800

Ah, I love avacados. I will eat them straight out of the shell w/ a little sea salt, maybe some balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. I'll also cut them up and microwave a little shredded cheese on top w/ tobasco. I'll put them on anything: sandwiches, burgers, salads, burritos, bagels. I just read someone subbing them for cheese in mac and cheese.

There's also a fantastic dip you can make w/ black beans, corn, tomato, jalapenos, avacado, w/ a little salt and pepper, garlic, cilantro and tobasco.

There are some great ideas on the Healthy Food for Lazy People Tribe.. It might require you to register, I'm not sure.

By: teleskiving

teleskiving — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:35:23 -0800

Avocado and bacon sandwich/baguette.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:36:01 -0800

A recent article about Dan Hoyt, the subway perv, has him mentioning an avacado based chocolate pudding. Haven't tried it but it sounds, um, interesting. Maybe something like this.

By: ms.jones

ms.jones — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:38:52 -0800

alt! avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich....the most delicious summer treat.

By: lemur

lemur — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:39:41 -0800

A sublime sandwich: good, thick bread, avocadoes, brie, tomatoes.

By: meerkatty

meerkatty — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:40:12 -0800

They are the essential ingredient for the perfect caviar pie. In a dish layer egg salad, then mashed avocado and top it with a layer of caviar. Serve on blinis or melba toast - perfection.

By: Radio7

Radio7 — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:41:20 -0800

I love to half them and eat them with a spoon.
The other night I chopped up some soft tofu, mixed in some pico de gallo, baby shrimps, phony crab bits and avacado pieces. I tossed in soya sauce and a splash of fish sauce.
It was so good, I'll definitely make it again.
I got the idea from Japanese cuisine. I used to get takeout from a joint that had an 'avacado salad' - theirs was less healthy though: mayonnaise, fake crab and avacado served in half the shell.

By: probablysteve

probablysteve — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:42:34 -0800

From the deli I used to work at in college: The California (bread, shaved turkey, cream cheese, avacado and sprouts).

By: phil

phil — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:45:25 -0800

i second the idea of cutting them in half and using them as bowls for such tasty morsels as imitation crab meat or shrimp etc.

they also make a great substitute for mayo on pretty much any sandwich.

By: leafwoman

leafwoman — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:45:50 -0800

Here is a great salad that is a bit different. Avocado slices and Grapefruit sections on a bed of lettuce, dress with vinaigrette.

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:51:51 -0800

Real simple preparation: avocado, sliced nicely with thin pieces of fresh mozarella and tomatoes and a vinaigrette.

right on. but hold the vinaigrette, cook (very al dente) some good penne, put them in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, mix the avocado/mozzarella/cherry tomatoes in, and serve as a nice pasta fredda summer dish

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:52:10 -0800

(add olive oil and green ground pepper to taste)

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:01:18 -0800

1. Put them in with chedder cheese and purple onion in your grill cheese sandwich.

2. Make the best carrot soup you've ever tasted:

- 3 cups of carrot juice (buy pre-juiced carrots at the grocery store or health food store or juice yer own)
- 1 small, ripe avocado
- 1/3 cup coconut meat/flesh
- 1/4 lime juice
- 2 tbs of agave nectar (about $2.50 a bottle at health food store)
- 1/2 tbs minced ginger
- 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp sea salt

A) Put everything in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning.

B) Garnish with a few cilantro leaves (optional).

This soup is terrific.

And yes, it's a raw soup, to be served at room temperature.

By: vespertine

vespertine — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:10:55 -0800

Mmm... avocado shakes. And there's always avocado ice cream.

By: komilnefopa

komilnefopa — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:11:41 -0800

Seconding the sushi suggestion: this sashimi and avocado rice bowl is quick, easy, and one of my favorite recipes.

By: Matt Oneiros

Matt Oneiros — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:17:24 -0800

There's this avocado based milk-shake like beverage I have had at several vietnamese restaurants. It is soooo good.

A google for "avocado milkshake" finds numerous recipes.

By: wallaby

wallaby — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:20:52 -0800

In Brazil, avocados are eaten like any other fruit. My friends here have trouble understanding guacamole. Creme de abacate is probably the most common preparation.

In Japan, my host mother bought me an avocado to make me feel more at home. They didn't like the flavor, but decided that with a little soy sauce it tasted just like sea urchin. It wasn't have bad.

My personal favorite would be a sandwich with chicken breast, roasted red pepper, avocado and alfalfa sprouts.

By: wannabehippie

wannabehippie — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:27:08 -0800

Grilled Avocados

1. Peel, pit and halve the avocados
2. Brush 'em with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
3. Lay them face down on a hot open grill for a minute or so. Flip and cook for another minute (You can cook them for longer, until there are grill marks on them and the Balsamic Vinegar caramelizes)
4. Remove from grill and shave Parmesan over them while they are still warm.

By: lannanh

lannanh — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:38:15 -0800

I once had avocado tempura at Nobu, it was the best thing I had ever tasted.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:48:54 -0800

Previously asked. (That predated the tagging system, so I just added the avocado tag now).

By: Chimp

Chimp — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:10:40 -0800

I add the avocado with ricotta cheese dill and pepper, mix it all up, until you get a nice "peppermint green colour". Layout some smoked salmon flat put a couple of teaspoons of the mixture on the salmon and roll up the salmon, a toothpick will keep the roll tight.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:27:54 -0800

Oh, and here's a little tip for opening an avocado: once you've cut it in half and twisted the two halves apart, swing the blade of your knife into the pit, rotate and lift. Pit comes out clean, hole is nice and pretty, and you got nothing on your hands. (Scrape the pit off the knife--no need to use your hands.)

By: rosemere

rosemere — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:45:50 -0800

Good Eats recently had an episode on alternative uses for avocados. The fan page here lists avocado compound butter, avocado ice cream, and avocado butter frosting. The page links back to the original recipes and to their own transcript of the show.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:53:12 -0800

I've made avocado ice cream from a recipe very similar to that in rosemere's link. It's so very, very, very worthwhile. Use the softest, ripest avocados you can find.

By: needs more cowbell

needs more cowbell — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:57:23 -0800

Cooked black beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, finely chopped onion, chopped parsley or (if you don't find it revolting--I do) cilantro, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix and eat on crackers!

By: kryptondog

kryptondog — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:10:57 -0800

A few slices of avocado transforms a BLT into a thing of beauty.

For a great salad dressing, take half an avocado, olive oil, white wine vinegar, a dash of lime juice, and salt and pepper and mash it all up until it's smooth. Tastes great on a bed of leafy green lettuce and grilled shrimp (I coat shrimp in the shell with olive oil, dill, and black pepper and grill them up).

I also like to toss chunks into a fruit salad- usually just apple slices, red grapes, and peices of pear.

My family's gotten to the point where we eat avocado with just about anything. Steak, chicken, seafood... we'll always have a plate of slices of avocado and limes handy. I'd recommend just putting a plate of 'em on a table next time you're cooking fancy and letting the magic happen.

By: konolia

konolia — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:23:54 -0800

Wow....thanks everybody (you can keep the ideas coming of course..) I do have to admit that avocado ice cream does seem a bit ...alternative.

The only avocado I'd had before last week was in overprocessed guacamole and restaurant sushi-I bought one last week (it was extremely ripe) and put it on the best sandwich I've ever made myself.

Now, I'm hungry.

By: kryptondog

kryptondog — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:28:46 -0800

Yeah, definitely avoid the store-bought guacamole. I've never tried one that was tasty, and I've tried quite a few. I don't know if it's the concentrated lime juice or the preservatives or what- it just always has a weird tang to it that's not good. A few avocados, a lime, a bowl and a fork are all you need to make good guac. Well, and a knife to cut everything up and a spoon to get the avocado out, but I digress. I'd throw in some diced tomato and some minced jalepeno too.

By: crazycanuck

crazycanuck — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:47:15 -0800

I stuff whole trout with a mixture of avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and cashews. Looks like hell coming out (try to pile it into a polite mound and then put the trout on top when plating) but tastes great!

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:02:35 -0800

One of my best food experiences ever was at a Balinese restaurant, where they served a sliced half of avocado in a delicate peanut and coconut sauce. Bliss... but really, avocado? Mash it on bread. Repeat.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:05:06 -0800

spread on bread like butter or dolloped in lumps into salads, mainly. they're also used (here in chile) mased up as a topping for hotdogs - an "italiano" is a hotdog with tomato, mayou and avocado on top (red white, green).

(but in season, they're dirt cheap here, and you can buy them already absolutely ripe if you're lucky).

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:21:11 -0800

Lime juice and sugar.

By: clarkstonian

clarkstonian — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:24:15 -0800

Avocado, tomato, cucumber, provolone (cubed), sprouts in a dressing of light mayo, light cream cheese, lime juice & honey in a pita. Excellent!

By: Juliet Banana

Juliet Banana — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:39:59 -0800

I smush avocado with a spoon and mix in an equal amount of bleu cheese dressing. Best easy salad dressing/sandwich spread in the world. When I get a fresh French bread loaf and I want to make sandwiches with it, this is what I go for.

By: Ian A.T.

Ian A.T. — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:21:32 -0800

A few people have mentioned using it in a black bean dip. Here's a stupidly simple recipe:

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 avocado
1/2 cup prepared Mexican-style red salsa
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
1/2 chopped medium tomato
Salt and pepper

1. In a medium bowl, roughly mash the beans with a fork or masher.

2. Halve the avocado lengthwise and gently twist to separate it from the pit. Make lengthwise and crosswise cuts about 1/2 inch apart in the flesh of each half. Scoop the avocado cubes out of the skin, and add them to the beans. Stir in the salsa, parsley or cilantro, and chopped tomato. Salt and pepper to
taste.

By: GilloD

GilloD — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:34:27 -0800

Avocado+Honey+CocoaPowder=Vegan Chocolate Pudding! Google around for the recipie, I usually just eyeball and taste-test it.

By: gg

gg — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:37:07 -0800

Try sprinkling garlic salt on it, then just spooning it from the shell. Or mashed on whole wheat bread. But I like it just straight with the garlic salt.
Glad to see other people eat it like this, too--I always feel guilty because it's so fatty.

By: Juliet Banana

Juliet Banana — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:05:08 -0800

Avocado+Honey+CocoaPowder=Vegan Chocolate Pudding! Google around for the recipie, I usually just eyeball and taste-test it.

Honey isn't vegan.

By: The Monkey

The Monkey — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:19:12 -0800

Avocado toast. Mush out onto hot buttered toast, then grind on some salt and pepper and away you go. One of my favourite things.

By: qvantamon

qvantamon — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:41:13 -0800

I agree with wallaby (also Brazilian). I had an avocado tree on the backyard in childhood, and eating avocado in salads or sandwich is kind of freaky to me (for a comparison, imagine a salad of lettuce, strawberries and vinaigrette, or a sandwich of cheese, bacon and apple).

As a child I've saw people eating it with sugar: take the seed out, and put some sugar on the hole. Eat with a spoon.
As for myself, I didn't eat it, but I took smoothies with milk, banana and avocado. Never ever eaten it like you're describing, and frankly, it weirds me out.

By: qvantamon

qvantamon — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:44:10 -0800

Oh, yeah, if they are overripe (black on the outside, creamy on the inside) try throwing them on the roof of buses to see them splat (not really, but that's how I really used that avocado tree on my backyard as a child)

By: Acetylene

Acetylene — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:08:59 -0800

... eating avocado in salads or sandwich is kind of freaky to me (for a comparison, imagine a salad of lettuce, strawberries and vinaigrette, or a sandwich of cheese, bacon and apple).

I've had both of those. They're great.

But I've also had avocados in a more traditional fruit context, and they're great that way, too. Try them in just about any fruit salad recipe -- this one, for example.

By: casarkos

casarkos — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:13:35 -0800

My family always served it sliced with soy sauce when we were kids.

By: catesbie

catesbie — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:14:29 -0800

Avocado margaritas! Mix up an ordinary batch of frozen margaritas but throw in an avocado before hitting 'blend'. Supreme.

By: Pigpen

Pigpen — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:36:01 -0800

Face mask.

By: blackfoot dazy

blackfoot dazy — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 23:34:57 -0800

And if you don't want to make avocado margaritas yourself, you can find them at Curra's in Austiin. Yes, they are delicious.

By: pieoverdone

pieoverdone — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:05:27 -0800

Sliced on white bread with mayonnaise.

By: garbo

garbo — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 06:00:07 -0800

Big squares of avocado dropped in ice cold gazpacho makes for an otherworldly mixture of texture and tastes.

By: samsarah

samsarah — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 06:38:23 -0800

Avocados are my favorite food. After staying with me for a week, a friend once told me that if she had to define me by one thing, it would be avocado. A few of my favorite ways to eat them:

-Take really nice, dense bread (my favorites are sourdough and french), smush half an avocado onto each slice, top with sliced tomato, sliced parmagiano reggiano, and Spike toast. Delicious.(Known by my friends as "Extra Special Toast.")

-Yummy fresh sandwiches: Take similar bread, or peasant bread, slice, smush half an avocado on, add red bell pepper slices, tomato slices, lots of extra sharp Cabot cheddar, and a few spoonfuls of balsamic vinegar (and some sprouts if you're into that sort of thing).

-Fish tacos: Grill some talapia or monkfish or cod or other whitefish with some lime and butter. Shred extra sharp Cabot cheddar and some cabbage, slice an avocado or two, throw it all in a corn tortilla with some salsa and cilantro.

-Avocado and chicken (or, if you're a vegetarian, just avocado) Thai curry with coconut milk.

-Cubed cucumber, diced tomato, avocado, oil, vinegar, pepper.

-ANY salad, fruit or vegetable, is better with some chunks of avocado. Also, chop it up into any homemade salsa.

-As previously mentioned, eat it with a spoon right out of the shell, alone or sprinkled with salt, Spike, or soy sauce.

Oh, I could go on...

By: rxrfrx

rxrfrx — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:49:55 -0800

Avocado shake with honey

Thinly sliced over pizza hot from the oven

In spaghetti with eggs and hard cheese (something like carbonara)

In a hard-boiled egg sandwich

California maki

By: rxrfrx

rxrfrx — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:50:19 -0800

oh, also, in maki or some other rice-combination with Japanese eel.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 06:12:02 -0800

Oh my god. I have to make this:

Avocado, grapefruit and shrimp millefeuille.