A year or so ago, I saw a picture of fried avocados somewhere on the internet and was instantly intrigued. Filipinos commonly think of avocados for dessert. It’s typically made into ice cream or mashed with milk and sugar into a creamy, albeit green “custard.” Though avocado is a fruit, Americans typically treat it as a vegetable. I remember my surprise when I first came to the United States and saw someone eating avocado in their sandwich! To me, that was like having a roast beef sandwich with bananas in it! Eew! I thought I would never be able to look at avocados as an appetizing addition to salads and other savory foods. So….. fried avocado? This was something entirely new and different for me. Something that in the back of my mind, I resolved I would like to try someday.
Well, that someday finally arrived. I decided I would make them to take to a dinner at my sister’s house and were they a hit! They made a great appetizer – crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. I served them with a Green Goddess Dressing. I added an extra teaspoon of lemon juice to the dressing to up the citrusy flavor a bit and the acidity was the perfect complement to cut through the richness of the avocado. I’m definitely going to make these again. Guess I’m changing the way I look at avocados after all.
AVOCADO FRIES
- 2 ripe but still firm avocados
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil for frying
- Place the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls or pie plates.
- In the first bowl, season the flour with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
- In the second bowl, beat the eggs well.
- Place the bread crumbs into the third bowl. You can use regular bread crumbs in place of the panko if you prefer. Both work equally well in this recipe.
- Slice the avocados in half, twist them apart and remove the pit.
- Scoop out the flesh and cut each into wedges.
- Sprinkle the avocado wedges with a little salt.
- Take each wedge one by one and roll first in the flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the bread crumbs.
- Heat enough oil in a small pot to deep fry the avocado wedges.
- Fry 3 or 4 wedges at a time until the crust is crispy and golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels and serve with Green Goddess Dressing or any dressing of your choice. Yum!
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