What’s a modern-day sandwich without a thick layer of delicious, nutritious avocado, right? Sliced or mashed, avocado adds that appealing rich and delicious taste to whatever meats, cheeses, veggies and pickles you prefer on a bap, baguette or bread.
We bet the Earl of Sandwich wishes he’d rather decided on the avocado way back in 1762 when he was credited with changing the way we eat forever by asking his cook to layer some roasted meat between slices of bread so that he didn’t have to leave his gambling table to fill his belly.
Avocados can also be a vegan’s best friend. An actual companion for a healthy life, as they’re really tasty, readily available and almost magically adaptable. Avocados can be stuffed with grains and veggies, form the centrepiece of salads – hello avocado Panzanella – as well as crave-worthy wraps, pasta, burgers and bliss bowls, smashed into spreads and dips. And even whipped into smoothies and desserts … they’re so good in a vegan chocolate cake. Yes, really!
Grab a couple of healthy avocados on your next trip to the supermarket and try a few vegan treats for yourself or embrace avocados to work on your sandwich game, taking due inspiration from the ultimate avocado baguette.
Serves 4
You’ll need: 1 baguette; Avo-nnaise or ½ cup cream cheese with herbs; 2 ripe avocados, sliced; 100g goat’s or vegan cheese, sliced; 8 strawberries, sliced; 2 smoked chicken breasts, sliced (optional); avocado or olive oil; juice of 1 lemon; salt and pepper; microgreens to garnish
For the Avo-nnaise – 1 avocado, peeled and chopped; 50ml avocado oil; ½ teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard; ½ teaspoon crushed garlic; ½ lemon, juiced and zest; pinch of sea salt; freshly ground black pepper
How to:
To make the avo-nnaise, place all the ingredients in a jug and blend with a stick blender until smooth and pourable. Add a couple of teaspoons of cold water, if necessary, to reach a pourable consistency.
Slice the baguette in half lengthwise and spread with the avo-nnaise or cream cheese.
Arrange the avocado, goat’s/vegan cheese, strawberries and chicken breast (if using) on half of the baguette.
Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with microgreens.
Top with the other half of the baguette and wrap in greaseproof paper, slice into thick portions to serve.
For more recipe inspo, pop over to www.avocado.co.za, like @iloveavocadoSA on Facebook and follow @iloveavossa on Instagram.