Whether you stuff your "avocado boat" with a simple scoop of cottage cheese or an elaborate seafood-herb mix, preparing the savory fruit is half the fun. Halved and pitted, avocados make natural bowls. Removing the pit leaves plenty of room to stuff each half without needing to remove any of the delicious, creamy avocado flesh. Avocados contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, as well as copper, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A and C and several B vitamins.
Step 1
Prepare your stuffing according to your chosen recipe and set aside.
Step 2
Rinse and scrub avocados under cool running water. Dry with paper towels or clean dish cloths.
Step 3
Slice an avocado in half by laying the fruit horizontally on a cutting board and inserting the knife through the center of the avocado, lengthwise.
Step 4
Gently twist the two halves apart.
Step 5
Remove the pit from the half of the avocado that contains it. Some cooks do this by pressing a knife across the surface of the pit and lifting the pit right out, while others prefer to scoop the pit out with a spoon.
Step 6
Turn the two halves over, than remove a small section at the center of each rounded back with a paring knife. Slicing off the most rounded part of the avocados will prevent them from wobbling as you stuff and serve your avocado boats.
Step 7
Turn the halves back over so that the hollow sides face up.
Step 8
Sprinkle lemon juice over the cut side of the avocado to prevent the flesh from browning.
Step 9
Scoop 1/2 cup of your prepared stuffing into each avocado half.
Step 10
Arrange on plates and serve.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider making the stuffing for your avocados a few hours in advance and storing in the refrigerator. Wait until just before serving to cut the avocados so that their flesh doesn't brown. Tuna salad, bean salad and shrimp salad are especially refreshing and "scoopable" stuffings for avocados. Instead of using a mayonnaise-based salad in the cavities of the avocados, buy extra avocados and use the mashed pulp in place of mayonnaise. Alternatively, dice the flesh of extra avocados and toss them with beans, rice and chopped vegetables before putting them in the cavities of the pitted avocados. Grilled avocado makes a dramatic presentation during the summer. Grill unstuffed avocado halves face-down on the grill for about two minutes, then remove and add the stuffing.
Things You'll Need
- 1 cup prepared stuffing per avocado
- 1/2 lemon per avocado
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Spoon
- Paring knife
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