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Finger foods..& a recipe for Avocado mint spread.


Whats it about having a whale of a time with friends & Family?. It makes it so hard to get back to food.  While I wait for my local farm to open up their fresh vegetable stand (June 23rd), Its back to trying small dishes, amuse bouches as Le Francais call them.



I've never really got too attached to Avocadoes, (a.k.a butter fruit) despite growing up with an avocado tree in my backyard a long time ago in Nairobi, Kenya. For some reason, they always remind me of Trixie, my landlady's dog. A neurotic German shepherd that constantly yapped & pounced upon anyone who wandered with in the radius of of the length of his leash which was constantly tied up to the said avocado tree. To cut a long story short, the extra 'hydration' provided by ol' Trixie ended up killing the poor tree!

I fell in love with the fruit all over again at the suggestion of a friend whose recipe I tried out. There is something amazing about the smooth butteriness that works perfectly as a 2 - in - 1 ingredient for a chutney sandwich and I had a whale of a time scarfing down these sandwiches, along with a plate of canapes, and even dosa!

Avocado & Mint Cutney:


1 ripe Avocado
1 cup cilantro, packed
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup shallots
1 Jalapeno deseeded
juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste.
1/2 cup Feta Cheese (optional)

Cut the Avocado lengthwise, twist to separate the halves. remove  discard the pit and scoop the soft flesh into a blender jar. Add the lime juice, shallots, jalapeno, mint & cilantro (& feta cheese, if using). Pulse to a smooth paste (with the consistency of sour cream). Add salt & adjust for taste. Transfer to a container & store in the refrigerator until needed.

Use this as a spread over white bread. layer with thin slices of boiled golden beet and sprinkle with toasted cumin. finish the sandwich using another slice of bread & avocado chutney. Cut into triangles and serve.






 Using a piping bag, or a squeeze bottle with a star tip (Crate and Barrel) is a great idea if you want to decorate open face sandwiches for parties.




Lightly toast  slices of white bread and cut into circles using a 1.5 inch cookie cutter.

Place a thin slice of cucumber over the circles of bread and pipe the avocado chutney over. Garnish with a sliver of tomato and finger lime beads.


Bon Appetit!



Comments

  1. Love this recipe and look forward to giving it a try.

    Thanks,

    Rosana Santos Calambichis

    BIG CHEF ONLINE

    ReplyDelete

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