Pickled Avocados: Brave A New Flavor

When I first heard about pickled avocados, I was a bit skeptical. I am now a fan. I love savory pickled veggies... and yah, so avocados are technically a fruit, but never mind that. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a pickling recipe that didn't have sugar in it. I am not a fan of sweet pickles. Yuck. I like savory. So I found a basic recipe that was just vinegar, water and salt. Then I experimented with seasonings and what was really great about this recipe, is that it doesn't take long to get your reward. Just 24hrs before it's minimum flavor is reached. I thought it was best after 4 days. Another plus is that it uses unripe avocados. Costco gets bags of them and they're all usually unripe and very firm. As the avocado pickles, it softens and is the PERFECT consistency.

You can eat these right out of the jar or have them on salads, burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs (yes!) and a friend of mine made portobello mushroom burgers and these pickled avocados were made for them. She's vegan and used vegan cheese too and it was a fabulous flavor profile. The plus to this recipe is it's a small batch. Just enough to share with friends/co-workers and enjoy in short order. So, I'm sure you're curious and want to try this out, so here is the recipe:

I ended up with three jars from 2 1/2 avocados.

Pickled Avocados
2 unripe avocados sliced or chopped
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1/2C cilantro leaves

Place in clean pint jar.
While preparing jars, boil:
1C white or apple cider vinegar
1C water 1 Tbsp iodized sea salt
1 Tbsp pickling spice
2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp dried onion

Pour brine over avocados, cover with lid loosely tightened and allow to cool before putting in refrigerator. Not shelf stable! Full flavor after 24hrs. Keeps for 3wks in refrigerator.

I encourage experimenting with the amount of seasonings and adding or subtracting anything to make it what you want. Just imagine how you would want a customized pickle to taste and go for it!

Broccoli Avocado Tumeric Soup

Perfect healthy cold weather soup! This is dairy/grain free and vegan (for those on restricted diets use veggie broth). It’s relatively easy to make. I don’t have a food processor, but my heavy duty blender did the trick. Just be very careful and start off slow. Don’t overfill, otherwise you could have scalding hot soup everywhere.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp coconut or extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
• 4 cups chicken stock or bone broth (for vegan use veggie broth)
• 1 head broccoli, trimmed and chopped (6 cups)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1 avocado, chopped, plus more for garnish
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 

                                                                                Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder, and turmeric and cook, stirring, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add broccoli and cook, covered, until bright green and tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, stir in spinach, and let cool slightly.
2. Transfer soup to blend and puree with avocado. I like a little texture, so I left 3 cups out and mixed in the blended portion with the reserved. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with avocado and a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Enjoy!