avocado springrolls

these were inspired by a dish i used to be obsessed with...the avocado eggrolls at the cheesecake factory. sadly, last time i had them they were not as good as they used to be but that's probably for the best. anyway, i still think that the idea is brilliant: crispy fried outside housing a warm, creamy inside of mashed avocado goodness.

for my filling i used the asian guacamole which is one component of a salad in the artful vegan. i used the same wrappers that shawn and kate used when they had us over this night. i remember them saying that the wrappers were really weird to work with and they weren't kidding! they don't stick to themselves at all but once fried they do hold a shape. use whatever wrapper you choose but don't be too worried if they seem like they're not working...i bet your problems will be solved when you start to fry. although i would recommend rolling them as tightly as you can to prevent too much oil from seeping inside when you fry them. one thing that i really loved about making these rather than traditional springrolls is that they are so much easier to assemble! none of this careful placing and stacking of ingredients, just plop a blob of guac on there, roll it up and move on!


avocado springrolls
(makes enough filling for about 15 springrolls)
ingredients:
4 scallions, green part only, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 cup jicama, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
2 avocados, mashed but with some chunks
juice of 2 limes
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
*****************
springroll wrappers
canola oil, for frying

combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

place the wrapper with a point facing you. put a large spoonful of filling in the lower third of the wrapper. roll the point over the filling, fold in the sides and continue to roll tightly. repeat until you are out of filling.

heat a few inches of canola oil in a deep pan or medium sized pot. fry each roll until golden brown. eat alone or with a dipping sauce (i made a tamarind based sauce).

-d

grilled guacamole

With the Fourth of July this weekend, let's take a moment to appreciate the avocado, the favorite fruit of us yumcoasters.



I made this grilled guac for a little impromptu dinner party a few weekends ago. It was inspired by this post from Darcy, and a subsequent (and possibly alcohol-fueled) conversation in Chicago regarding the myriad possibilities of the the grilled avocado. Once back in Boston, I decided to make it on yet another deary Saturday and have a few friends over for burritos and, of course, s'mores!


Here is the, sort of, recipe. You can adjust the seasonings and heat to your liking!

Grilled Guacamole

4 avocados, halved and pits removed
3 small plum tomatoes
1/2 jalepeno pepper, finely diced
2 tbsp (or so) finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp (again, or so) chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of a lime (or two)
Salt and pepper

Heat a grill pan (or an outdoor grill). Drizzle the avocado halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place cut face down on hot grill pan. After 3 to 5 minutes, rotate 90 degrees (so you have nicely hatched grill marks). Grill for another 3 minutes or so, remove from pan and let cool slightly. Remove avocado flesh from skin and coarsely chop. Combine in a large bowl with all other ingredients. Stir to combine, lightly mashing the avocado (you want the finished product fairly chunky. None of this pureed guacmole). Season liberally with salt and pepper, and serve with your favorite tortilla chips!

Enjoy!

- e

romaine, grilled avocado, and smoky corn salad with chipotle-caesar dressing

show me the words 'grilled avocado' and i'm sold.

such was the case with the june issue of gourmet, which is the grilling issue and brimming with things i want to make (yes, i was pleasantly surprised to find lots of meatless grilling ideas). but it was this recipe that made me go "ohmygod ohmygod i have to make this NOW." i love avocados. but never had i ever eaten, or even thought of making, grilled avocados. what kind of avocado obsessive am i?

anyway, this recipe was all that i hoped it would be. the flavor of the grilled avocados was not so drastically different from normal ol' raw ones, which is probably at least partly because i had to use a grill pan and not a real grill, but i think the heat made them a little creamier and they were still warm when i put them on the salad which was nice. the grilled corn added another summery flavor and some crunch. the dressing was fantastic! it doesn't seem very close to "traditional" caesar dressing (which makes things easier for me!), the only non-vegan element was parmesan cheese which i replaced with almesan from veganomicon (you could also just go buy some vegan parm if you want. or maybe use some nutritional yeast?). loved the smokiness of the chipotles, especially since my grilling did not give me any smoky flavor. i definitely want to make this again and i think it would make a really great entree with some added (grilled?) tofu thrown in. below is the recipe as it's printed but, as i said, it's not too hard to replace the parmesan and make this vegan.


romaine, grilled avocado, and smoky corn salad with chipotle-caesar dressing
(from gourmet, june 2009. as printed, makes 4 entree sized portions)
ingredients:
1/4 cup grated parmesan (or replacement of your choice, almesan from veganomicon is a good choice)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ears of corn, shucked
2 firm-ripe 6-to 8-ounces avocados, halved and pitted but not peeled
1 head romaine (1 pound), tough outer leaves discarded and head quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch strips

prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (high heat for gas) or heat your grill pan.

put parmesan in a medium bowl and add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking. whisk in lime juice, garlic, chipotles, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

rub vegetable oil on corn and cut sides of avocados, then season with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. grill avocados, cut sides down, and corn, covered only if using a gas grill, turning corn occasionally, until golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

peel avocados and thinly slice. cut corn kernels from cobs.

toss romaine with dressing and serve topped with avocado and corn.

-d