5 ways to cook with avocado that you did not know

Avocado is one of the most versatile fruits that exist. Thanks to its mild flavor and creamy texture, it provides us with a wide range of ways to enjoy it, whether with sweet, salty, acid or bitter ingredients (or all at once).

5 original ways to add avocado to all your dishes

The simplest thing is to eat the avocado as it is. Cut in half, remove the stone and eat the fruit with a spoon, taking advantage of its natural wrapping that acts as a container.

We also usually cut it and add it to salads or put it on toast, but there are many more ways to use avocado:

1. As an ingredient in cakes, tarts, biscuits and brownies

In this article I explained how to make avocado brownies. avocado smoothie serves as fat and creamy ingredient. It’s like adding a solid fat at room temperature (such as vegetable shortening or coconut oil) and fruit compote at the same time.

In these preparations it works perfectly as margarine substitutewe just have to take into account that it is as if we were also adding a little liquid, a smoothie fruit or something creamy (melted chocolate, for example) and adjust amounts of flour or other ingredients if necessary.

In general the replacement ratio is 1.5:1. We will always add 50% more avocado than we would add in margarine or coconut oil. For example, for every 100ml of fat that we are going to use (margarine, coconut oil, etc.) we will use 150ml of avocado.

Also replaces the egg if they are small quantities (1 egg), since it provides fats, proteins and creaminess but does not curdle like the egg.

2. To make vegetable mayonnaise

Instead of starting with the classic ingredients (vegetable milk and oil), we can start with avocado and vegetal milk. We will need approximately 1 medium avocado to make half a cup of vegan avocado.

Vegetable mayonnaise made this way has less fat (and better) than the one made with sunflower oil. As it already has that creamy texture, it is not necessary to add huge amounts of oil for the emulsion to take on body.

The same thing happens when we make vegan with potatoes, carrots or other similar vegetables, but with the advantage that the final texture of our mayonnaise will be much more similar to the original. Of course, with avocado flavor and green color.

3. To make healthier sauces

Serves practically any sauce slightly thick. To do it we will have to change the way we prepare the sauce, but it is not difficult.

For example a béchamel: instead of thickening it with flour, we add whipped avocado. It is not necessary to heat oil with flour, although it is recommended if we want the béchamel to have a taste more similar to that of a lifetime, but you will need much less quantity (1 tablespoon of oil and 1 of flour). Then you just have to add the vegetable milk and stir as for a normal bechamel.

The avocado béchamel is also green and only a subtle aroma if we have browned the flour at the beginning. The advantage of this béchamel is that baked it will brown and gratin much better than the traditional one thanks to avocado components.

4. Frostings and toppings

Pass the avocado through the blender and mix it with the recently melted chocolate. You will have a chocolate cream at the moment with which to cover any cake, cupcake or cake you have. Also as a filler, of course.

Instead of using margarine, coconut oil or vegetable creams, we use avocado, again taking advantage of its creamy texture and fat content.

With dark chocolate it makes a very good combination since it not only makes it manageable but also reduces the bitterness of the chocolate and makes it sweeter. It is not for nothing magical, it is that we add more volume of another ingredient that does not taste bitter, acid or salty, and that also melts in the mouth along with the chocolate.

Also it will be more satiating, so put less topping than you normally use on your desserts. Don’t worry about the color, your cream will still be chocolate colored.

5. To make ice cream

With the previous explanations you could already see it coming: ice cream with avocado. You can make them the flavor you want, and then, instead of mixing them with whipping cream, liquid vegetable cream, etc., mix them with whipped avocado.

Avocado freezes very well, it has little water and has all the ingredients that favor an ice cream without large ice crystals, that is, creamy, not hard.

in ice cream we will notice less the taste of avocado, but the color will be noticeable. It is not a problem when we use green ingredients (kiwi, mint, mint, pistachios, matcha, melon…) and it can even be an advantage if what we want is a contrast of colors (for example with pieces of strawberries, cherries, blueberries or raspberries ).

You can also add vegetable yogurt and the ingredients that you like the most to your ice cream, but use avocado as a base.