Avocados are THE
Essential
Dominican Ingredient
Here's some easy avocado
recipes
Avocados and avocado recipes are a mainstay of Dominican cuisine.
The soft ripe creamy green pear is an essential accompaniment to
almost every Dominican meal. In the Dominican Republic a meal
without avocado is a meal without a heart!
This simple recipe for avocado is the one that we use at most
meal times in the Dominican Republic:
Simple avocado
recipe
Allow ½ an avocado for each person
Olive oil (extra virgin is best)
Lemon juice (freshly squeezed if available!)
Black pepper (also fresh ground)
fresh chopped cilantro (coriander leaf)
Take a perfectly ripe avocado
(TIP: The avocado should
be quite soft and yielding at top and base when gently pressed with
the finger tips...don't press too hard though!)
Cut through the avocado lengthways, centrally.
Gently ease the two halves apart.
Separate the stone from the avocado entirely.
(TIP: Cup
the half with the stone gently I your hand and lever the stone out
by using a sharp knife BUT be careful)
Place avocado on a suitably sized plate cut side
down.
(TIP: Lay side by side with one half facing one way
one the other - just for better presentation!)
Slice through the avocado at 1cm (½ inch) intervals.
Mix a tablespoon of (extra virgin) olive oil with 2 teaspoons of
fresh lemon or lime juice and drizzle over the avocado
Finish by sprinkling with ground black pepper and/or fine chopped
cilantro (that's fresh coriander leaves to UK readers)
Serve as soon as possible after preparation - particularly as
avocado can discolor quite quickly once exposed to the air (although
the acidity of the lemon juice helps reduce this tendency).
A Favorite Guacamole
Recipe
This may be more of a Mexican food recipe rather than Dominican
but here is another favorite among avocado recipes. Guacamole is a
creamy, spicy, tangy dip that is excellent with nachos/tortilla
chips, or toasted bead, for a quick nibble or maybe as a starter or
appetizer:
2 large ripe avocados
2 fine chopped shallots
and half/or whole average sized red or mild white onion
2 good sized very finely chopped minced fresh garlic cloves
1 good sized ripe-ish tomato (not too soft, though!), peeled,
de-seeded and chopped
A teaspoon of fine chopped moderately hot chili (you can of
course use more chili if you 'like it really hot')
Or a few drops of 'hot West Indian' pepper sauce/Tabasco (if no
fresh chili available)
Juice of a whole fresh lime
A pinch of ground, untreated 'grey' sea salt
A good grind of black pepper
And if you like it:
Some fine chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
The avocado should be at the soft ripe stage, but still perfectly
green and free of 'grey/black' deterioration (cut this out if
necessary, as it will discolor the guacamole). Its a great way to
use avocados that have just gone past being able to prepare them as
decribed in the avocado recipe above!
Slice through the avocado lengthways down to the stone and
carefully pull in half. Scoop the 'flesh' out of its skin with a
spoon.
Put the avocado in a bowl and add lime juice immediately to
reduce discoloration, ensure all the avocado is covered.
Remove the tomato skin by pouring boiling water over the tomato
and leaving for 30 seconds. The skin should split at top and bottom
and slide off, cut in half and scoop out pips. Flatten slightly on a
chopping board and dice quite finely, but not to a
'mush'.
(TIP: Cut a small cross in the top and bottom of
the tomato with a sharp knife to help with the skinning
process!)
Mash the avocado with a fork until reasonably smooth. Fold in the
onion, chili and garlic and season combine thoroughly but not too
'brutally'!
Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Place in a clean dish and leave for 'flavours' to develop for up
to an hour. Serve in a clean dish, and sprinkle with a little fine
chopped cilantro (coriander/recao) leaf at point of service.
If you have any favourite avocado recipes, or alternative
guacamole recipe (Or as some spell it guacomole! Wrongly by the
way!!) then please do 'send' them to us via our contact page and
we'll happily feature it here!
(These recipes originally featured on our 'Mother' site, http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/
which contains loads of travel advice
for visitors to the Dominican Republic.)
"El Jefe" ;-)
(Copyright www.dominican-foods.com (2005) -
Easy Avocado recipes)
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