I really need to get a grip on myself when I do the shopping. I’m often guilty of breaking that golden rule and doing the food shopping when hungry, but if there’s no food in the house that’s when I need to do the shopping. Obviously. I also seem to be incapable of exercising restraint when faced with gloriously fresh, seasonal produce at the farmers market and often end up back at home, looking at a big bunch of something I had no intention of purchasing when I went there. I then spend the rest of the day up to my armpits in cookbooks trying to work out interesting ways to serve whatever it might be (spinach, often) for the next three or four meals to the cynical offspring. Thank heavens for cheese, that’s all I can say.
Unsurprisingly, this happened again a week or two back when I stopped at the pop-up roadside stall that appears intermittently in Verdun. It is the work of an enterprising Riverland grower who is happy to spend his day sitting in the shade, selling the product of his block to passing motorists. It is where I buy all of our oranges and whatever else he might have that is fresh picked. On the day in question he had some magnificent avocadoes. These were huge – the size of very large grapefruit – and cheap, so I trotted home with three of them.
Of course, reality hit when I got home and realised just how much guacamole we would have to eat to get through these monsters, but my daughter reminded me of a delicious dessert we had enjoyed while staying in the riad Dar Mo’da in Marrakech last year. It was a light and lovely avocado mousse which, my daughter tells me, I was confident about recreating back here at home.
In fact, the truth has proved slightly different and I did have to resort to emailing the riad to check on ingredients. Their cook, Zenib, generously shared her version with me, which had pistachio yoghurt in it. That is not something I’ve seen in the stores here so I’ve improvised a little, tweaked it a little more and the result is delicious. It’s a perfect cooling dessert for the hot weather and of course it’s also dead easy to make. This could also be simply converted to a vegan dessert by using coconut yoghurt, instead of the usual dairy variety.
Avocado Mousse
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocadoes
- 8 soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 200 ml vanilla yoghurt
- 2 tsp orange flower water
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
- date syrup and fresh mint for garnishing
Instructions
- Place dates into a food processor and pulse until they are almost reduced to a pulp.
- Add avocado flesh, yoghurt, mint and orange flower water and process on high speed until the mixture is light and creamy smooth.
- Put into individual dishes or ramekins and refrigerate.
- Garnish with a drizzle of date syrup and top with mint leaves before serving.
I do the same with avocado-I buy a lot when it looks good and it is cheap. Somehow we always manage to finish it as it is so versatile 🙂
I love the though of a green pudding. Easy and delicious and a great way to use up avocados
I’m so impressed with this recipe and can’t wait to make it for our table. The date syrup is so cool.
Agreed, I do the same… we had to stop going to the farmer’s market for the same reason… now I buy a little a time, as we need things. But now this dessert, what a way to celebrate good produce. Sounds exquisite!
I do wish we had a guy on the side of the road selling homegrown produce around here. I haven’t been buying avocados because they are so very expensive. What a lovely dessert and it looks very smooth and creamy xx
What lovely ingredients and such a pretty dish indeed! I struggle with enthusiasm when I see gorgeous, fresh produce as well. Seasonal stuff at its peak is almost irresistible for me! 🙂 xo
Ha I’m the same when it comes to shopping like a mad woman when I’m hungry! I am intrigued by the sound of this though.
Avo mousse sounds amazing. Although, I don’t know a time I would resort to turning avocado to a dessert, they just don’t hang around long enough in my household to be considered for such fanciness. 🙂