Wholly Guacamole!

I’m a fan of good guacamole. Not the processed, sloppy, remnants of the flu like guacamole you find at the supermarkets, but the fresh, zingy, pack-a-taste-punch stuff.  Completely, totally, wholly guacamole.

For this recipe you’ll need:
2 ripe avocados
3 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
A small bunch of coriander
A handful of ripe baby plum tomatoes
A lime or two (I didn’t have any limes in so used lemons instead which are fine but I prefer limes for this really)
Half to a whole jalapeño chilli.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chop up the the onions, coriander, tomatoes, chilli and garlic very finely.

Chop up the avocados until they’re slightly mashed but chunky at the same time, then add in the chopped ingredients and mix through. Season with salt and pepper and squeeze in the juice from one of the limes (or lemons). Give it a taste. Add more lime juice/seasoning as needed. Put the avocado stones back into the guacamole to prevent it discolouring, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Delicious!

Stuffed baby aubergines (eggplants)

This is a bit of a fusion recipe; a flavoursome amalgamation of Italian and middle eastern ingredients which blend seamlessly to create a real taste sensation.

Start off by halving some baby aubergines and boiling in salted water for five or six minutes until soft.

Once soft, scoop out the flesh using a spoon and place in a bowl. Retain the empty skins for later.

Add in freshly chopped coriander (cilantro), three cloves of minced garlic, half a teaspoon each of paprika and cayenne pepper, a large handful of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, lots of black pepper, and maybe a touch of salt (go easy though as the cheese will add some saltiness), and enough breadcrumbs to bring the mixture together. You will need to get your hands in the at this point to give it all a good squelch together. Don’t be shy!

Now, spoon the mixture back into the empty aubergine skins.

Place skin side up in a hot frying pan for a couple of minutes to brown and heat through. Flip and fry the bottoms for a minute or so too.

Enjoy!