avocado

Avocado and Potato Salad

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The sun has been shining a  lot this February in Berlin and it makes me think more about summer food. There are some decent organic avocados in the shops, although they have travelled a long way. Potatoes are always delicious in Germany and there are some lovely salad version available. This is a hearty, rich salad which should only be lightly dressed otherwise it becomes too cloying. It is best with the potatoes still warm.

Ingredients

Serves 1 as a main course

A whole ripe avocado

A Little Gem lettuce or a Romaine heart

6-8 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters

A large spring onion very finely chopped

6 tiny salad potatoes

A tablespoon of shop bought or homemade salad dressing of choice

Boil the potatoes whole for 20 minutes and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Finely chop the lettuce and place in the bottom of a bowl. Add tomatoes and the avocado chopped. Add the potatoes to the top of the salad and then sprinkle over the onion. Dress lightly and season to taste.

Avocado, Spinach and Tahina Wrap

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This is a lovely soft and crunchy wrap  that is full of nutrition and tastes really delicious. You can use basil or coriander, spinach or rocket, hummus or tahini and add more chilli or leave it out.

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Serves one

A large, fresh wrap

A few leaves of baby spinach

A few leaves of chopped fresh coriander

Chilli sauce to taste or fresh chilli

Half a tablespoon of tahina

Half an avocado

Salt and pepper to taste

Spread the tahini over the wrap. Add the spinach and then slices of avocado, coriander, onion and chilli sauce. Season to taste.

Half a spring onion finely chopped

Luca’s Green Pea and Avocado Guacamole

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This recipe is for baby Luca. I hope he likes it. I spent a bit of time looking into what babies eat and I think this is safe. It is very fashionable now to make baby food from fresh ingredients and I think that is a great thing, giving babies a wonderful start in life and hopefully helping to minimise the chance of developing a taste for sugary and salty food.

I started making pea guacamole as my husband, Dave, cannot eat avocado. As Dave is away at the moment I am able to make it with avocado but adding sweet, baby peas makes it even fresher tasting. As this is for a baby, I have left out the chilli but you could add fresh or dried chilli to your taste.

I ate this on toast for breakfast and as a side dish to the pea and leek risotto I made earlier in the week.

Serves 2-3 people
Total time 10 minutes

Ingredients
Half a large, ripe avocado
150g of frozen baby peas defrosted
A tablespoon of olive oil
Quarter of a clove of garlic
A medium spring onion roughly chopped
A few leaves of chopped, fresh herbs – coriander, parsley or basil would work
Half a medium tomato roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. You will need to shake the blender quite a bit and you can add a tiny bit of water if needed.

Avocado and Tahina Breakfast Toasts

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This week I am trying to focus on quick, easy recipes that anyone can make and enjoy in 10-15 minutes as I am back at work and still eating alone. Vegans get hungry easily and a good breakfast is essential. I often eat hummus or avocado on toast in the morning. I got the idea of avocado on toast as a breakfast dish in Chiang Mai, Thailand where there are some great veggie cafés. Served with a banana and coconut smoothie it provided a great start to the day.

I have used tahina for extra flavour and protein here but pesto also works well as a layer under the avocado. It is also delicious topped with slices of tomato or sprinkled with sesame seeds or linseeds or indeed chopped walnuts.

Serves 1
Total preparation time 5-7 minutes

Ingredients
2 slices of rye or wholewheat toast
Half an avocado
A squeeze of lemon juice
4 teaspoons of tahina
Chopped fresh basil to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread the toast with the tahina. Mash the avocado with a fork and add the lemon juice and season. Spread onto the toast. Garnish with basil leaves.

Juicy Mushroom and Avocado Toasts

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I am cooking for one at the moment and prefer light, fresh and easy dishes. Dave cannot eat avocado so I try to eat it with everything when he is not here. You could use shop bought or homemade vegan pesto instead of hummus. I used the pumpkin and avocado hummus that I featured yesterday. You could garnish with fresh coriander for a different kind of fresh taste or even add some dried chilli flakes.

The whole dish takes 10 minutes
Serves 1
1 large slice of rye or wholemeal bread toasted
150g mushrooms sliced
Fresh chives or the green ends from a bunch of spring onions (scallions) finely chopped
Olive oil for sautéing
Half a ripe avocado sliced into 3
5 cherry tomatoes cut in half
A tablespoon of hummus
Fresh basil finely chopped go garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Gently heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Gently fry the mushrooms and onions for about 7-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes. Season to taste. Meanwhile toast the bread. Cut it in half and cover with the hummus. Spoon the mushroom mixture onto toast and place the avocado on top. Sprinkle on the basil.

Roasted Pumpkin and Avocado Hummus

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I had half a roasted pumpkin left over from the Roasted Pumpkin and Walnut Salad. I also had an avocado that needed eating up. They are both quite rich foods so I was not sure about combining them. I was wowed by the results. The dip is rich and creamy but light and sweet too.

I blend the pumpkin with the skin left on but you can remove it if you prefer.

Makes a medium sized bowl
10 minutes total time not including roasting the pumpkin

Ingredients
Half a large baby pumpkin, roasted with the skin on and left to cool
A whole avocado
A tablespoon of tahini
A quarter clove garlic
A tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
A little water
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a little water if necessary to get things moving. Serve with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and paprika to red chilli powder.