As the brighter weather is here, and as measures regarding going outside starting to loosen, we’re likely to see a boom in picnics in the park. But how can you keep picnics fresh and exciting?
A bottle of prosecco will help with this of course, but have you ever thought of taking along the mighty avocado to your picnic? Not all foods containing avocado need to be designed and presented as if you’re at a Michelin star restaurant, it can look and (more importantly) taste just as good slapped together in your kitchen.
To help you, we’ve come up with 4 ‘fancy but simple’ recipes for shaking up your picnic avo style:
Recipe 1:
A little bit fancy, and a tiny amount of effort goes along way:
Avocado, cucumber & prawn bites
You will need:
1 ripe avocado
½ cucumber
10 large cooked prawns
10 crackers: oatcakes, water biscuits, rye crackers (any will do)
½ lime (juiced)
Mayonnaise, chilli mayo or spiced crème fraîche (whatever flavour dressing floats your boat))
What to do:
Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl, mash it and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze in the lime juice.
Peel and cut the cucumber into 10 equal slices (you can peel the outside off if you're feeling extra fancy). Place a slice (or chunk dependant on preference) on each cracker and put a spoonful of smashed avocado on top of the cucumber.
Now top that with a large prawn and finish with a little of your chosen dressing... voila!
Recipe 2:
Smoked salmon & avocado crackers
This one is where you can up your game a little, it has the look of being served as a canape at a fancy event, but is actually very easy to make. It’ll also impress your friends on the gram!
You will need:
2 ripe avocados
4 long slices of smoked salmon
½ lemon (juiced)
½ lemon
2 hard-boiled eggs
12 crackers of your choice or small rounds of toasted bread
What to do:
Cut one of the avocados in half, remove the stone and scoop the avocado into a mixing bowl. Mash the flesh, season with salt and pepper and stir in the lemon juice.
Cut the smoked salmon into equal pieces that will be plenty long enough to wrap around a spoonful of avocado mixture. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and place a couple of slices on each piece of the smoked salmon. Top the egg with a spoonful of the smashed avocado mixture and fold the salmon around it to make fancy little parcels.
Place the salmon parcels on top of the crackers or toasted bread pieces.
Take the other avocado, cut it in half and remove the stone. Use a large spoon to slide just underneath the skin of the avocado and bring the flesh out in one whole piece. Cut this into slices to place one or two on top of each salmon parcel in an arty, Instagrammable kind of fashion.
Finally, carefully cut the peel off the remaining half of the lemon. Chop the lemon flesh into small pieces and put a piece on top of each cracker. Grind a little fresh black pepper on top for added flavour.
Recipe 3:
Prepare to evolve into the ‘elite luncheon squad’ with this recipe. The ultimate avo sandwich is about to come into your life. (We also recommend a non-meat version of this sandwich by leaving out the prosciutto). Perfectly presented as nice chunky sarnie, or into dainty minis for an afternoon tea style – depending on your mood!
Avocado, prosciutto & egg sandwich
You will need:
Any bread works for this, but a granary or light rye bread will work best with the flavours.
4 slices of good, fresh bread
1 ripe avocado
6 slices prosciutto (Parma ham style stuff) or any dry cured ham. You could also use salami if you prefer
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
½ a lime (juiced)
Olive oil
What to do:
Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Scoop half into a bowl and smash it up a bit with a fork. Keep it quite chunky and season with salt and pepper, then add the lime juice.
Drizzle some olive oil onto the slices of bread, and prepare to build the sandwich. Spread the smashed avo onto 2 slices of bread, slice the eggs and distribute them evenly along with the sliced tomatoes.
Take the remaining half of the avocado, scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon and slice it thinly. Place the slices on top of the tomatoes and egg and finally cover with a layer of the prosciutto.
Top it off with the other slice of bread. If you’re a real animal, you could add mayo…
Recipe 4:
Don’t be put off by the length of this one – remember Rome wasn’t built in a day! Add a spicy difference to your lunch or picnic with this Asian inspired sandwich – It’s surprisingly little effort too.
Vietnamese chicken and avocado banh mi
Did you know that the Vietnamese word for avocado is Trai Bo meaning “butter fruit”?
You will need:
6 chicken thighs
½ an onion (finely diced)
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp sugar
Salt & pepper
For the Viet pickle…
1 large carrot
½ Daikon radish or 4 red radishes
2 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
½ lime (juiced) (optional)
Salt
For the sandwich…
4 hot dog style rolls or a soft baguette cut in 4
2 ripe avocados
1 medium heat red chilli
24 large, fresh mint leaves
What to do:
In a frying pan, heat the oil to a medium heat and add the garlic and onion. Cook until it everything starts softening (about 3 minutes), then add the chicken thighs and brown them on all sides. Add the sugar, fish sauce, salt & pepper.
Place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Whilst this cooks, prepare the Viet pickle.
The Vietnamese generally use Daikon white radish but finding it can be a challenge, so normal red radish is a decent substitute. Peel the carrot and cut into matchstick-size pieces and the cut the radish the same.
In a mixing bowl add the sugar, vinegar, lime juice and a pinch of salt. Tip the carrot and radish strips in and mix well. Leave to one side to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
Now to assemble the best avocado & chicken sandwich ever!
Slice the rolls or baguette along the top.
Cut the avocados in half and remove the stones. Scoop the flesh out carefully using a spoon and slice the flesh neatly. Place the slices on the sides of your roll, then put the fresh mint leaves as a layer next to the avocado (both sides). Leave the mint leaves whole.
Slice the warm chicken thighs and place them along the centre. Shred the chilli very finely and sprinkle over the chicken. Drain the pickles and sprinkle over the Banh Mi and serve.
Adding sriracha or a good chilli mayo is permitted (and recommended!).
So there you go, the ultimate avocado picnic awaits. We’d love to see your pictures of these recipes, or your own adaptations. Share them on Instagram or twitter and tag us in using the following handles:
@theavocadocompanyuk – Instagram
@avocado_company – Twitter
