Categories
Fish & Shellfish Produce Salads Uncategorized

The Best Cinqo De Mayo Avocado Shrimp Tostadas

California Avocado Shrimp Tostadas

Cinqo de Mayo is just around the corner and we’re getting ready by enjoying California Avocados – back in season and perfect for bringing together your favorite Mexican flavors – lime, cilantro, and… avocado. Yum.

This shrimp tostada recipe, a light and healthy dish perfect for a weeknight or for a dinner party, was shared with us by the California Avocado Commission and was created for them by chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, aka, the Too Hot Tamales of early Food Network fame. Known also for their fabulous Santa Monica restaurant Border Grill, the Too Hot Tamales have been partnering with the California Avocado Commission for some time now to bring fresh, flavorful, avocado forward dishes to all of us. Enjoy!

avocado commission
Avocado Trio
The Best Cinqo De Mayo Avocado Shrimp Tostadas
 
Prep time
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Bold flavors come together in this fresh take on the shrimp tostada
Author:
Recipe type: Entrée Salad
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup beer
  • 3 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp. celery seeds
  • ½ tsp. cayenne
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ lb. domestic, wild-caught jumbo shrimp, peeled and cleaned
  • 2 ripe, fresh California avocados, seeded, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
  • 1 Roma tomato, finely diced
  • ¼ cup finely diced red onion
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 jalapeño, stem and seeds removed, finely diced
  • ½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1½ limes, juiced
  • 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt, to taste
  • Ground black pepper, to taste
  • Canola oil, for frying
  • 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  • 4 romaine lettuce leaves, finely julienned
Instructions
  1. Combine beer, bay leaves, celery seeds, cayenne and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until just turning pink and cooked through. Remove shrimp from liquid, cool to room temperature, and cut into ½-inch dice.
  2. In a large bowl, combine cooked shrimp with avocado, tomato, onion, carrot, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir gently, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Chill thoroughly.
  3. Meanwhile, pour oil to a depth of ½-inch in a small pan for frying. Fry the tortillas on both sides until crisp and drain on paper towels.
  4. To serve, divide julienned lettuce evenly between each crispy corn tortilla. Top with avocado shrimp mixture and serve immediately.
Notes
I substitute ¼ cup shredded carrots (in the bag) for the diced carrots in this recipe and I leave out the celery seeds.
Categories
Panini Produce Sandwiches Vegetarian

Axell Family California Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Randy Axelles Grilled California Avocado Sandwich

Did you know that 90% of the nation’s avocados are hand-grown by farmers in California? Many of the California avocado groves are multi-generational and family operated. Randy Axell is one of those growers. As a third generation avocado grower, Axell and his wife, Joanna, have raised their family on 40 acres of land in Santa Paula, Calif. called Rancho Rodoro. It is named from a combination of Axell’s parents’ names, Ross and Dorothy. Axell feels privileged to have grown up on a farm and to have provided the same opportunity to his children.

CA Avocado Grower, Randy Axelle

“I love being able to spend every day on a farm and in the groves. It’s very satisfying to be able to grow something from a tiny seed to a full tree,” explains Axell when asked about his favorite part of being a California avocado grower.

Randy’s passion for growing California avocados is clear in the quality of his trees and the fruit he harvests each season. His farm is operated to the standards of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification, a program that requires Randy to document everything he does on the farm as well as implement the best possible management practices to aid in preventing food safety issues. He sees these practices as a natural thing to do, to focus on food safety and sell the perfect piece of fruit.

To view videos of Randy Axell sharing his stories of growing California avocados, visit his page at the California Avocado Commission website.

Axell Family California Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Recipe created by California avocado grower Randy Axell for the California Avocado Commission, used by permission.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

4 slices cheddar cheese
8 slices whole wheat or honey wheat bread
1 ripe, fresh California avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
4 slices red onion
Chili sauce, to taste
4 slices pepper jack cheese
Olive oil cooking spray

Instructions

On each sandwich, place a slice of cheddar cheese, a layer of avocado, tomato, and onion slices. Add chili sauce to taste. Top with pepper jack cheese, and finish with remaining bread slices.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Place sandwiches in skillet and cook until bread is browned. Turn and cook until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Calories 350; Total Fat 18 g (Sat 6 g, Trans 0 g, Poly 1.5 g, Mono 6 g); Cholesterol 25 mg; Sodium 610 mg; Total Carbohydrates 33 g; Dietary Fiber 7 g; Protein 19 g;

Categories
Appetizers Fish & Shellfish Produce Uncategorized

Avocado-Crab Gratinée

Avocado Crab Gratinée
Avocado Crab Gratinée

A few weeks after the amazing California Avocado Commission dinner at One Market, I flew to the south of Spain for a family wedding. We stayed at a small inn about 45 minutes west of Malaga called Hotel Rural La Paloma. Owned and operated by an Italian couple, Philippo and Elena took amazing care of us.

Hotel Rural La Paloma, Spain

The menu at the inn’s restaurant was a great mix of Spanish and Italian-influenced dishes. They were incredibly accommodating as well. My husband is a vegan, and they were happy to prepare separate, off-the-menu dishes for him. While I am moving towards a vegan diet, I took the opportunity to taste a few dishes on the menu that contained dairy and seafood. One of my favorites was “Aguacate relleno de pulpa de cangrejo gratinado,” or “Puréed avocado stuffed with crab au gratin.” We’ll call it Avocado-Crab Gratinée.

Hotel Rural La Paloma

I couldn’t wait to come home and try to prepare the dish myself. Elena was nice enough to share the recipe with me and both avocados and dungeness crabs happen to be in season right now. This dish is so easy to prepare, you could easily whip it up for weeknight treat for two.

Avocado Crab Gratinée
Avocado-Crab Gratinée
Avocado-Crab Gratinée
 
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Avocado, crab and cheese. Yum.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetiser
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 ripe California Grown Avocado
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
  • 2 oz lump crabmeat
  • 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the broiler. Cut the avocado in half. Discard the pit, but reserve the skins. Empty the flesh into a microwave-safe bowl. Mash it with a fork it and add salt and pepper, combining well. Add the heavy cream and the crabmeat and mix well with a fork. If the mixture is too thick, add additional heavy cream.
  2. Warm the mixture in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the grated Parmesan cheese to the mixture and stir it in completely. Spoon the mixture either back into the two empty avocado halves or into one or two small oven-safe dishes. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese on top.
  3. Bake under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese has browned slightly. Serve immediately.
Avocado Crab Gratinée
Avocado Crab Gratinée

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