To peel or not to peel? That is the question of the day.
According to experts, "...this is a matter of taste. For recipes with strong spicing and primitive coloring (hmmm wonder what that means) the skins add to the texture and look all-of-a-piece. With a creamed mixture or a lot of overflow (ick) it is neater eating with the skins off. The shells look more fragile this way, and you have a greater expanse of that interior avocado color."
To peel an avocado to make a half shell - halve the avocado lengthwise, twisting gently to separate the halves. Whack a sharp knife directly into the seed and twist to lift out.
Place the avocado cut-side down in the palm of your hand. Strip or pare the skin. Now the shell is ready to stuff with curried chicken, for instance. Here's the recipe:
Curried Chicken Stuffed Avocados
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 T curry powder
1/4 cup flour
1 cup light cream
1 cup chicken bouillon
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
4 avocados, halved and peeled
3 to 4 cups cooked rice
condiments (see below)
In a saucepan: saute apple, onion, garlic and curry powder in the butter until onion is crisp-tender. Stir in the flour. Gradually add cream and bouillon; cook and stir until the sauce boils, about 1 minute. Add salt, pepper and cubed chicken. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Arrange the avocado halves on the cooked rice in a heat-proof serving dish. Heat in 350º oven for 5 minutes. Spoon the curried chicken over the avocado halves. Serve with your favorite condiments: chopped egg, crumbled bacon, sweet pickles, shredded coconut, raisins, chutney, preserved ginger, chopped peanuts.
This recipe is from an old cookbook that I featured in a previous post - The Avocado Bravo published by the California Avocado Advisory Board. Let me know if you try it.
Have a great weekend.
Oh, that just looks SO DELICIOUS, and I have not had dinner yet! That has spoiled me for anything else that I might have planned...yummy!
ReplyDeleteHi Mona Kay,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd like to have some of this curried chicken for lunch today. Unfortunately the only ingredient I have are the avocados - a whole grove full. Ha! But I'm going to try it soon and I'll let you know how it turns out. Tonite I'm going to try Avocado pie and if it turns out tasty, I'll post the photo and recipe. If not, down the drain it goes.