Cooking with avocado

[koukouvagia]

I love avocado and eat it in salads, sandwiches, dips, and sushi rolls.  Does anyone have any experience cooking with it?  Could it be added to a soup or used as a pizza topping?  It's an interesting idea I'd like to see if anyone has tried it.

 

[gerdosh]

Though my professional recipe collection is extensive, avocado does not appear anywhere as a cooking ingredient. I think it's consistency is so soft that avocado would become a mush i any hot dish.

 

[charron]

I've seen it as a garnish on soups plenty of times.  Here is a recipe that incorporates the avacado.  I admit I haven't tried making it yet; it's in my to-do file.

Avocado Crab Soup


2 cups chicken broth

1 green onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 medium avocados, peeled and cut up

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat, drained and cartilage removed
 

1. In a 2 quart saucepan, heat broth, onion and garlic to boiling.

2. Pour hot mixture into blender.

3. Add lemon juice and avocados, cover and process about 30 seconds or until smooth.

4. Pour mixture back into pan; add yogurt and crabmeat.

5. Heat, stirring constantly, until hot.

6. Ladle into 4 soup bowls and garnish with twists of lemon


For a pizza, I'd be inclined to use elements from this recipe as toppings and perhaps make use of your earlier suggestion of cream cheese in place of mozz, probably with a bit of the yogurt mixed in.  Perhaps some roasted red pepper worked into the crust...

 

[kyheirloomer]

I don't recall ever seeing a recipe where it was actually cooked. But it's often used as part of cooked dishes, such as in sauces and the like.

Ana Sortun, for instance, makes a fried calamari with avocado hummus dish. And you can make an avocado cream when you want, say, the flavors of guacamole but not the rustic texture.

Avocado is also used, often, as a salsa component.

 

[charron]

I did a search for avocados in soups, and it seems the rule is to add the avocado late to the heat, and gently; serve right away.  Chicken seems to be its most consistant companion, along with items of spicyness, and lots of texmex combos.

 

[freshbaker]

I think in any hot meals it would seriously turn into paste, not to say it won't taste good though.

 

[chefray]

 The only time that I have ever tried to actually cook an avocado, it blistered and went bitter in about 30 seconds.  The problem is the massive oil content in the fruit.  I have seen it added to soups and hot sauces but only just before plating and off of the heat.

 

[mgchef]

 l love avocado. I made an avocado mousse 2 weeks back for a dinner party and i cooked. I did a 7 course dinner and it was really nice. I just took avocados, blended with cream, vinegar, salt, pepper, lots of lime juice and cilantro until it had a pretty acidic taste. Then, made some whipped cream, and folded it in until it had a good taste and was very mousselike. I had some bananas i left in a bowl in the fridge with fresh squeezed orange and lime juice and sauteed them in a pan quick with a bit of paprika and crushed red pepper. Made a line of mousse on the plate, topped with bananas(no liquid), put liquid in bottle and made little pattern. Sprinkled over some salted roasted pumpkin seeds and homeade pickles chopped finely. Really good, and looked really nice. Other than that you can make chicken avocado salad, guacomole, avocado ice cream, goes good with pineapple etc. You can do alot with avocado.

 

[koukouvagia]

It makes sense to add it at the end of the cooking process like fresh herbs.  The crab avocado soup sounds amazing!!

 

[dc sunshine]

Charron,

That recipe I am going to steal - hope you don't mind /img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif  It does indeed sound tasty.

But yes, as to cooking avocado, I can't say I've done it, but adding at last minute to just, only just, heat through, sounds good.  As with banana, which can be considered as a fruit and an herb, it is best to leave until the just before the end of the preparation, same as with basil, parsley,dill, green onion tops etc.

 

[homemadecook]

Well for me il never heard cooking avocado alone eversince , Avocados are served fresh from their peels. There is no need to cook avocados for baby or adult. Give an avocado a gentle roll around your counter to help separate the meat from the shell before you slice.It can be cook just as ingredient.

 

[dicey]

its actually really nice as a pizza topping with chicken and sour cream!

 

[homemadecook]

its actually really nice as a pizza topping with chicken and sour cream!

Avocado ? pizza topping with chicken and sour cream .. mmmh really ? you have recipe ?

 

[amongfriends]

There is a tapas bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Canyon Road called El Farol that serves fried avocado slices. They're wonderful. We went back the next day to eat them again.

I wish I could tell you more about the dish, I was too busy shoving them into my mouth to take note of how they were made. They really were fried, though. No batter or anything.

And I'd just like to say hi to you all and tell you how much I enjoy reading these forums of yours. You folks are aces.