Grilled Avocado with Quinoa

This is a vegan recipe with plenty of healthy ingredients.  Impress your friends with your culinary skill. This is a wonderful starter course - served with plenty of sangria! 



Servings: 6

Ingredients
3 large ripe Hass avocados, split with seeds removed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
1/3 cup sliced cherry-, pear-, or grape-tomatoes
1/3 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
1/2 cup orange segments
1/4 cup (Italian) parsley leaves, washed
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn with fingers (see below)
1 clove garlic, smashed or minced
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
    Preheat a grill to medium.
    In a medium sauce pot of boiling water cook the quinoa until tender, about 10 minutes, drain in a fine sieve, rinse under cold water and leave to dry.
    Place the smashed garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and some salt in a small bowl and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour stirring occasionally. Remove the garlic and whisk in the olive oil.
    Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss well, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, chill.
    Brush the avocados with the oil and place on the grill, cut side down, grill until traced and remove.
    Fill the half-avocados and serve.

My notes:

Lemon juice and vinegar help keep the avocado from oxidizing.
The Hass cultivar tends to have a large seed, leaving a good bowl to fill.
You can leave the minced garlic in the vinegar infusion if you wish.
I substitute cilantro for the mint, as it gives the "salad" an entirely different aspect (besides, I don't really like mint).
I use the Cara Cara type of navel orange.  A Moro or Sanguinello blood orange is good too (remove seeds).

This recipe adapted from: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/07/30/grilled-avocado-quinoa-salad-recipe

So....if it's for Jenny....does that mean I can't use it?

Of course you can - it's a "dedication"

Changed title

I should make this for Jenny if I end up in LA. It sounds delicious!

Oh my god. My tastebuds want that so incredibly bad. You sent this at just the right time, because today I haven't had more than some toast with coconut oil and a handful of tylenol + antibiotics. Hahaha.. MUST DINNER. NOW.

Quote from: Casey Danielle on January 17, 2014, 09:11:51 PM
So....if it's for Jenny....does that mean I can't use it?

I hereby support anyone to try this as soon as they possibly can!

Quote from: Willow on January 17, 2014, 09:23:35 PM
I should make this for Jenny if I end up in LA. It sounds delicious!

Uhh chhyeahh!!

Quote from: Willow on January 17, 2014, 09:23:35 PM
I should make this for Jenny if I end up in LA. It sounds delicious!

It is!  I also make it with a sweet honey-lemon vinaigrette, if you don't like garlic.

I love avocados and always looking for new ways to prepare them    That looks pretty tasty

Quote from: V M on January 17, 2014, 09:35:02 PM
I love avocados and am always looking for new ways to prepare them    That looks pretty tasty

I will have to come up with one for you, in that case.  Do you like crab meat? Or baby shrimp?

Quote from: Jamie D on January 17, 2014, 09:36:40 PM
I will have to come up with one for you, in that case.  Do you like crab meat? Or baby shrimp?

Yup, total seafood head as well

Quote from: Jamie D on January 17, 2014, 09:27:04 PMIt is!  I also make it with a sweet honey-lemon vinaigrette, if you don't like garlic.

I'm Italian, of course I like garlic!
But that vinagrette does sound delicious both ways.

Seafood Louis Avocado Salad

This is a variation on the popular Louis (pronounced loo-eee) salads, usually made with crab, shrimp, and/or lobster.  It is nice if you can get the equal amount of the fresh seafood, but this recipe used the canned versions which should be found in most grocery stores.  In this presentation, the Seafood Louis is heaped into the avocado.

The prep time should only be about 20 minutes - most of that hard boiling the eggs.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 hard-boiled eggs, chilled, chopped
2 large ripe avocados, rinsed, halved and seed removed
12-16 oz canned crab, shrimp, or lobster (or a mixture of any of them), chilled
2 celery stalks, medium dice (use the leaves too)
1 medium tomato, diced

Louis dressing (makes about 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 TBLSP Half & Half (or cream, or whole milk)
3 TBLSP chili sauce (or ketchup with a little prepared horseradish)
1/2 TSP Worcestershire sauce
A few drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)
3 TBLSP Green bell pepper (about three thin slices), diced
3 TBLSP Sweet onion, fine dice
Assorted salad greens

1 lemon, cut into six slices

Method

Boil the eggs ahead of time
Prepare dressing in a mixing bowl, mixing liquid ingredients thoroughly; add bell pepper and onion
Correct the seasoning with salt, pepper, Tabasco, or horseradish 
In another bowl add seafood and vegetables, toss
Place the four avocado halves, scored, in a salad bowl or plate, squeeze with 2 of the lemon slices
Spoon equal portions of crab and vegetables into the avocado, spilling over as it happens
Place assorted green around the avocados
Top stuffed avocados with Louis dressing, pouring some of the dressing on the greens
Garnish with chopped egg and lemon slice



Might look something like this

I can get the BumbleBee white crab meat in six 6-oz cans at Costco/Sams club for about $15.

Don't recall about the canned baby or bay shrimp.  They usually have the flash-frozen in the fresh fish section.

No worries, I can get all the ingredients at the local supermarket and actually have most of them already    I'm allergic to bell peppers though so I'll have to leave those out

Because I am alone I usually have to divide most recipe ingredients down to one or two servings, but It is good to have the full recipes because you never know, someday I might have a guest or two 

The recipe looks really good, I think I may try it on Sunday

Yeah, you can get by without the bell pepper.  And really, when you think about it, Louis Dressing is a lot like Thousand Island, but without the pickles, and some added some horseradish, Tabasco, and/or cayenne (if you are brave enough!).  It will keep in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap just fine.

Never hurts to kick it up a notch 

Playing around with California Cuisine, thinking of something to make for my cardio-rehab folks.

Cool, light, healthy, refreshing.  These are local ingredients for me, I am sure you can get the same thing fresh in your groceries in Australia.

Baby greens with avocado, strawberry, and orange

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cups of mixed baby salad greens (such as spinach, assorted lettuce, escarole, radicchio)
1 ripe avocado, thin-sliced in wedges
6-8 fresh strawberries, halved
1 orange, peeled, seeded, and segmented
2 oz slivered almonds, chopped (as garnish)

Honey-lemon Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
white sugar to taste

Method

In a large salad bowl, mix the greens, avocado, strawberries, and orange segments.  Chill prior to serving.
When ready to serve, place salad on two chilled salad plates
Dress with vinaigrette
Garnish with almonds

Jamie this last one is so incredibly healthy! I've actually decided to go on a sugar cleanse after all the antibiotics, I'm doing no sugar for a month or longer. You can look it up, its called the candida diet. I did it once before for 4.5 months with amazing results.

With the exception of the oranges and by a small margin the strawberries, that recipe is sugar free How'd you know??

Today for lunch I had:
* 3/4 cup (precooked) brown&wild rice fried with 4tbsp coconut oil and 2 eggs
* coconut oil seared kale (3 stalks chopped)
* 1/4 head of red leaf lettuce chopped
* 1/2 avocado sliced and diced
* minced cilantro
* seasoned with sea salt and black pepper

Named by my rommates over the months as the "Jennygirl signature salad". Served in a big bowl.

Then for dinner I had:
* tilapia grilled in sesame oil seasoned with rosemary
* bed of greens
* 1/2 avocado
* minced cilantro
* seasoned with sea salt and black pepper

Served in a big bowl. Noticing a pattern on the presentation?

It is healthy!  I just thought that instead of lemon juice, you could try the juice of a Meyer lemon (less tart), and less honey.

I often use brown rice instead of white rice (though I love my jasmine rice and basmati rice).

I have to try the tilapia - sesame oil is a great, nutty touch.

Pompeian now has a pomegranate-infused balsamic vinegar, that I have played with the last couple of months.  It goes well with a salad such as ...

Arugula, pear, pecan, and feta cheese (I'm making that tomorrow!)

I repeat this here for Sephirah who, despite having traveled around the world, has missed out on guacamole (i.e. "whack-a-mole"). That made me laugh so hard - I thank you.

"The pineapple-bacon guacamole [stolen modified from Chef Lucky Peach], was an adaptation that lessened some of the more egregious ingredients, without compromising the taste.  This made a very large batch of guacamole, more than enough for a party:

Ingredients

2 slices of nitrate-free bacon, cut into lardons (can't find nitrate-free - use thick sliced instead)
1/2 teaspoon grapeseed oil
3 medium to large avocados, ripe, peeled and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1/2 medium red onion, fine diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium red tomato, fine diced
2 fresh pineapple spears (about 1/3 of a whole pineapple), core removed, fine diced (or a small can of pineapple chunks)
1/8 cup loose fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
several drops of Chipotle Tobasco sauce, to taste

Method

Render the bacon, in oil, over medium heat for approx. 15 minutes, until crisp.  Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain and cool.

Peel and scoop out the meat of the ripe avocados, and mash with a forks.  Small chunks are acceptable.
Immediately add the lime juice and mix, to preserve the color.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic. And thoroughly mix

Fold in the diced pineapple, diced tomato, and cilantro

Add Tabasco to desired heat and taste.

Chill for thirty minutes, covered in plastic, before serving."

***

"Avocados have 3.5 grams of mono- and polyunsaturated fat combined and just 0.5 gram of saturated fat per 1-oz. serving. They are naturally free of sodium, trans fats and cholesterol, making them a great fruit to help meet heart-healthy eating recommendations." -
American Heart Association  And let me add, they are great for your hair.

I served these with commercial lo-salt tortilla chips.  I meant to get flaxseed tortilla chips at Trader Joe's but I ran out of time.  Another way to do it is to serve them with "vegetable chips," that you can buy or make.  Typically they are comprised of carrot, spinach, beets, sweet potatoes, etc.  Mostly root vegetables, with some coloring from leaf vegetables.

***

This was hidden in my blog, but I have cut it down by half.

Mmmmm.... bacon. I kinda lost my train of thought after I started thinking about bacon. >_>

Thank you.