MANILA, Philippines — Avocado is rich, creamy and loaded with healthy fats and fiber.
It is also rich in vitamins (C, K, B6, E, riboflavin, folate, niacin, and pantothenic acid) and minerals that help improve digestion, support bone health, reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, as well as obesity, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and, yes, even lower the risk of depression.
Very versatile, Avocado is great as a dessert and a savory dish. It is usually eaten as is, mashed with a little sugar, or blended into a refreshingly good shake. It’s also what Guacamole is all about, and, lately, people have been eating slices of it on toast.
But what else can you do with avocado? Six chefs share their secret avocado ‘recipes'
Chef Melchor Taylo
Former chef of Diamond Hotel Philippines and now culinary consultant of many restaurants and resorts, Chef Melchor Taylo, likes making Tuna Avocado Timbale whenever avocado is in season. Sounds daunting? Not quite, as he breaks this "gourmet" dish into homemade proportions.
Tuna Avocado Timbale
Ingredients:
Fresh tuna, small diced
Minced shallots or red onion
Minced fresh coriander leaves
Minced pickled Japanese pink ginger
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado, diced
Alfalfa sprouts
Procedure:
1. Mix together all ingredients, except avocado.
2. Set a small ring molder on a plate. Fill with the tuna mixture, pressing down lightly to fill the ring mold and make ingredients come together.
3. Top with diced avocado.
4. Remove the ring molder. Garnish with alfalfa sprouts. If feeling gourmet, you may substitute the alfalfa sprouts with caviar.
Chef Dino Datu
What avocado dish does Chef Dino Datu enjoy the most? Well, apart from wife Chef Gel Salonga-Datu’s Avocado Cheesecake, which is available at Ted’s and is super good, he likes to make Avocado Hummus, and the good news is that he’s sharing his recipe right here, right now.
Avocado Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cans chickpeas, drained
2 pcs. ripe avocados
1/4 cup tahini or smooth peanut butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 cup olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 pc. lemon
Salt to taste
For the garnish:
Chopped coriander
Olive oil
Pinch of paprika
Procedure:
1. Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
2. Transfer to a shallow bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with coriander and paprika.
3. Serve with warm pita bread and vegetable sticks.
Chef Cyrille Soenen
Chef Cyrille Soenen, who works for Le Cordon Bleu Philippines, looks at avocado as a savory ingredient.
He makes a nice sauce base for it by mixing Dijon mustard and blue cheese. Then he adds some sour cream and a little bit of wine vinegar and seasons it with salt and pepper.
Then he cuts the avocado in half, removes the seed, fills the “cup” left in the avocado with sauce, and scoops away. He enjoys it like that.
Chef Junjun De Guzman
What does Chef Junjun de Guzman, well-loved pastry arts instructor of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies (CACS), do with avocado when it’s in season? Turn it into a simple and delicious icy treat!
“I chop the avocado into chunky cubes, add cream to it, mix in some stevia for sweetness, and add ice,” the chef said.
Chef Jonas Ng
Chef Jonas Ng also likes his avocado nice and cold.
“I mash it with condensed milk and freeze it for a cool, creamy treat any time,” said the restaurateur behind James & Daughters restaurant.
Chef Poch Jorolan
Pampanga-based restaurateur and caterer Chef Poch Jorolan (of Everybody’s Café) gets really creative when faced with an abundance of avocados. He likes turning this lovely fruit into a myriad of delicious stuff.
Some of the simplest and purest ways by which he enjoys his avocado are to eat it fresh with a little brown sugar, make a smoothie with it, or enjoy it on toast for breakfast.
For the latter, he simply mashes the avocado, season it with a little lemon, salt and pepper, and slather it on toast. This easy prep can also be used as a dip.