I was never a true fan of avocado. My grandmother had a giant tree right beside the large bedroom of her house, and during the avocado season (I'm not even really sure that there was an avocado season, but that tree only bore fruit in certain months) it would be chock-full of huge green fruit. I guess it wasn't the Haas variety, which has a rough, purply skin. Our avocados were large, green and smooth to the touch.
My obsession with avocados began when a friend expressed a hatred for the fruit (yes, it is a fruit, because the tree flowers and bears seeds, duh). His mother was from California, and apparently loved having it in every other thing. He couldn't bear to touch anything that had touched an avocado. Somehow, I wanted to prove that he had the wrong attitude to avocados.
So I began to explore the potential of avocados. A Jamaican roommate once said that back in her country, they ate avocados like mashed potatoes, with meat or fish. A classmate from South Africa talked about avocado sandwiches, with the avocado mashed with lemon juice and spread on sandwich bread. In the US, California maki is made with avocado while back home it is made with mango -- I like the avocado version better. Of course, back home, we have avocado ICE CREAM...my American classmates positively cringe at the idea.
I am trying to find a picture of avocado ice cream, but no success. In the absence of an ice cream maker, my mother mixes avocado and condensed milk (I think,) and chills the mixture.
Mostly, I love avocado in anything that isn't sweet. Like this...
Or this...
Or this...
But today, I am going to share my favorite sandwich recipe. I must have culled it from a Martha Stewart recipe, since I believe in all things Martha. Or possibly a Food Network or Real Simple recipe. I have made a little bit of tweaking as well.
The recipe calls for a salmon filet, one avocado, juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of butter, bread (I like garlic pita or pumpernickel the best), a bunch of arugula, dill or fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
Poach the salmon till it is cooked through and flakes easily (you can add dill to make the salmon more flavorful). Make the avocado butter by mixing avocado, butter, dill OR oregano (dill has a more subtle flavor, but oregano gives a great kick), lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toast the bread. Assemble the sandwich by flaking the salmon and spreading it on a piece of bread. Top with arugula. Spread the avocado butter on another piece of bread, and place on top of the arugula. Be generous with all the ingredients...this is meant to be a hearty, overflowing, messy sandwich.
So what are your favorite avocado or favorite sandwich recipes?
