GUACAMOLE

Serve your guacamole with water crackers or crisps. My favourite is bread sticks or pieces of raw vegetables, such as carrot sticks and mushrooms.

2 small or 1 large avocados
2 medium tomatoes
1 fresh green chilli, seeded and chopped (or a pinch of chilli powder)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Lemon juice, salt, pepper

Peel and de-seed the tomatoes. Drain them and chop them roughly. Peel and mash the avocado. Mix all of the ingredients together, using the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. If you are refrigerating, keep covered with cling film.

AVOCADO AND CHEESE PUFFS

1 large (or 2 medium) avocado
100 g cheese, grated
175 g of thawed puff pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten

Preheat oven to 200°C/ 400°F/ Gas Mark 6. Cut the avocado in half lengthways and extract the stone. Scoop out the flesh and mash together with the cheese. Roll out the pastry until quite thin and cut into 8 squares. Divide the mixture up into 8 portions and place some on each square and fold over to form a triangle. Moisten the inside edges and seal by pressing down with a fork. Brush with the egg yolk and bake for around 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown.

AVOCADO AND TOMATO SALSA

This is a delicious (and simple) accompaniment to pan–fried fish, especially squid or salmon!

1/2 medium avocado, ripe but still firm
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 organic red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
One small handfull coriander leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
Juice of 1 lime

Peel, stone and dice the avocado neatly. Be careful not to make it mushy or you will lend up with slush. Mix all the ingredients together and serve.

ITALIAN AVOCADO AND WALNUT SALAD SALAD

This only takes about 10 minutes to prepare!

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
2 tsp lemon juice
110 g (4 oz) red leaf lettuce, shredded
230 g (8 oz) packaged salad
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
120 ml (4 fl oz) Italian dressing
1/4 tsp salt
14 g (1/2 oz) seasoned croutons

Combine avocado and lemon juice in a salad bowl. Add lettuce and walnuts and toss. Combine remaining ingredients, except croutons, in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Add pepper to taste. Shake vigorously. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Serve with croutons.

CHILLED AVOCADO SOUP

1 large or 2 small (ripe) avocado/s
500g natural fromage frais
900ml tomato juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

Peel and stone the avocados. Chop them and then place, in 2 or 3 batches, into a blender with the fromage frais, tomato juice and garlic. Blend until you have reached smooth soup. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

AVOCADO PANCAKES

2 ripe avocados, peeled stoned and sliced
100 g sugar
4 tablespoons rum

Batter:
100 g flour
30 g sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon cream
2 eggs
Pinch salt
Milk

Mix the sugar and rum together and pour over the avocados in a bowl. Turn the pieces in the liquid in order to coat them. Leave for an hour. Make the batter by mixing the remaining ingredients, keeping it quite runny. Cook around 12 pancakes in the usual way and roll each of them around a spoonful of the drained avocado slices. Put the pancakes side by side on a heatproof dish. Pour the leftover rum juices over the top. Heat the grill and place them under the heat for another 3 minutes before serving.

STUFFED AVOCADO

2 avocados
1 red pepper
50 g cooked cous cous
175 g mushrooms, chopped finely
2 spring onions, chopped finely
2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander
25 g grated Parmesan cheese
A couple of drops of olive oil

Preheat oven to 190°C/ 375°F/ Gas Mark 6. Quarter and de-seed the red pepper. Rub a little olive oil on the skin and grill until the skin blackens. Wrap in a tea towel for 10 minutes, which will make the skin easier to peel away. Discard the skin and finely dice the flesh. Mix this in a bowl with the cous cous, mushrooms, onions, coriander and add salt and pepper to taste. Halve and stone the avocados. Spoon the mixture into the centre, piling quite high. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and arrange in an ovenproof dish. Bake for 15–20 minutes. For a crispier topping, place the avocados under a hot grill to brown before serving.

AVOCADO WITH MUSHROOM FILLING

75 g mushrooms, minced in the blender
3 tablespoons pesto sauce
1 large ripe avocado, cut in half and stoned
Lettuce leaves to garnish

Steam the minced mushrooms for 3 minutes. Cool, and drain off the juices. Mix the mushrooms with the pesto and place inside the hollow of the avocado halves. Place on a bed of lightly dressed lettuce leaves to serve.

AVOCADO, BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUT SALAD

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
110 g (4 oz) red or curly leaf lettuce, shredded
230 g (8 oz) other salad leaves 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
120 ml (4 fl oz) blue cheese dressing
14 g (1/2 oz) seasoned croutons

Combine avocado and lemon juice in a salad bowl. Add lettuce and walnuts and toss. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Serve with croutons.

CROUSTADE OF AVOCADO, TOMATO AND LIME

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices thinly cut wholemeal bread
1 large avocado (or 2 small ones), peeled and diced
Juice of one lemon
3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
3 organic tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 190°C/ 375°F/ Gas Mark 5. Mix together the olive oil and garlic. Using a pastry cutter, cut out circles in the bread and then brush each piece with olive oil. Press lightly into a 12–hole cake tin, and bake for 10–15 minutes until crisp. Meanwhile, mix together the avocado, lime juice, spring onion and tomato. Season with the salt and pepper and pile onto the croustades just prior to serving.