Avocado Strawberry Salad

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A beautiful, slightly sweet and spicy, starter.

Serves 4

2 avocado, ripe but firm, chopped into small pieces
100 ml finely chopped strawberries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Chili flakes

3. Drizzle with oil and vinegar

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Nutty Bite Sized Pies

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This recipe provides a great base for a lot of different toppings. By adding some cinnamon you can even make it as a base for a dessert, maybe cheesecake?
Here I’ve made it with two different toppings. You might recognize some of the ideas from an earlier recipe “Nutty Guacamole Pie”.

300 g toasted (blanched) almonds
1 red apple
1 large sweet potato
2 carrots
50 ml lemon juice

1. Mix all in a blender.
2. Spread into pie tin, bake at 175 C for 40 minutes
3. Set aside. Can be refrigerated for later use.
4. When cool, cut into bite size squares.

Topping 1. Red pepper hummus
200 g chickpeas
4 tbsp lemon juice
100 g roasted marinated bell pepper (drained)
2 tbsp Tahini
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp smoked paprika powder
A few drops of Tabasco
Up to 50 ml olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) in a blender.
2. Run until smooth.
3. Slowly incorporate the olive oil
4. Set aside

Topping 2. Avocado crunch mix.
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ apple, cut into fine cubes
1 avocado, mashed
3 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Roasted macadamias or hazelnuts, halved
Rocket salad
Cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Cut base into bite sized portions.
2. Spread with one of the toppings.
3. Garnish.

Baked Avocado

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Serves 4
2 avocados, halved with stone and peel removed
150 g Mozzarella, diced
25 g walnuts on small pieces
Basil leaves, shredded
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
4 gem lettuce leaves

  1. Oven at 200 C
  3. Mix all remaining ingredients together.
  4. Spoon the mixture on top of the avocados.
  6. Serve on a piece of gem lettuce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce with Strawberries and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Sweet and Sour Sauce with Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream

As usual, the secret lies in the sauce, and this is no exception. This is a wonderful, wonderful sauce, which can be served with a variety of desserts other than vanilla ice cream (for instance white chocolate ice cream, cardamom ice cream, chocolate cake, fruit salad…).

Serve as part of a dinner with:
Starter – Fresh and Fruity Vegetable Starter
Main course – Chilli Crab Cakes and Rosemary Courgette Spaghetti
Dessert – With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Serves 4

200 ml sugar
200 ml white wine
50 ml lemon juice
1 small avocado

Strawberries, sliced

A batch of Home Made Vanilla Ice Cream as per our previous recipe

  1. In a saucepan, simmer the sugar and wine over low to medium heat until reduced to about half the amount.
  2. Remove from heat and let cool.
  3. Combine the wine/sugar mix with the lemon juice and avocado in a blender and process until smooth.
  4. Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate. Serve well chilled.
  5. Pour some sauce onto a plate, arrange the sliced strawberries and ice cream on top.

Avocado Gazpacho

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A very festive starter for a summer day, pleasing to both the eye and the palate. The Tabasco sauce is decorative but also quite hot so use with care. This recipe is best made a day in advance. The citrus juice prevents discolouring. To be served chilled.

Serve as part of a menu with
Main Course: Seafood Quinotto
Dessert: Duo Choco Mousse with Cassis Syrup

Serves 6:

4 avocados, stone and peel removed
1 small lime, juice
1 small lemon, juice
½ garlic clove (when used in a cold recipe the garlic taste comes out much stronger), crushed
1 green chili, deseeded, in pieces
2 yellow tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, cut into pieces
3 salad onions
fresh coriander
100-120 ml cold chicken broth
crab tails
olive oil
Black pepper

  1. Place the avocado pulp, lime juice, lemon juice, garlic, chili, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and fresh coriander leaves (save some leaves for the garnish) into a blender and puree until smooth.
  2. Gradually add the chicken broth until you have desired gazpacho consistency, thick but not too thick.
  3. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for several hours.
  4. Before serving, pour into small (the soup is quite rich) bowls. Place crayfish tails on top, some drops of olive oil and Tabasco, a few coriander leaves and some freshly ground black pepper.