Entertain at home: Three delicious avocado braai sides
With so much focus on the main attraction, side dishes can often feel like a bit of an afterthought at a braai. So, we’ve rounded up three easy but yummy sides for your Saturday night braai … but don’t just think regular sides. Think avo sides.
Avo, garlic and cheese bread
Serves 12
You’ll need: 1 loaf sourdough bread; 2 ripe avocados, peeled and halved lengthways; 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; juice and zest of 1 lemon; ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese; ½ cup grated cheddar cheese; salt and pepper to season
How to:
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Using a sharp knife, deeply cut the bread into a honeycomb pattern (don’t cut through to the base of the loaf).
Scoop avocado flesh into a bowl and add oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest and seasoning, lightly mash with a fork to combine.
Gently ease bread open and spoon avocado mixture into the loaf.
Repeat using cheese.
Place the loaf onto a large sheet of foil and wrap loosely. Place on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes.
Uncover and bake for a further 8-10 minutes until hot and golden. Serve immediately.
Grilled sweetcorn with spicy avo cream
Serves 4
You’ll need: 4 sweetcorn, steamed or grilled on a braai; jalapeño pepper, sliced (optional); fresh coriander, chopped; lemon or lime wedges to serve.
For the spicy avocado cream: 2 large ripe avocados, peeled and pitted; 1 cup low-fat yoghurt; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; juice from 2 limes; big pinch smoked paprika powder; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; big pinch chilli flakes (optional).
How to:
Make the avocado cream – place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, for a thinner consistency add a little cold water.
To serve, drizzle the avocado cream over the hot sweetcorn.
Garnish with jalapeño, fresh coriander and lemon wedges.
Eggless avo potato salad with avo-nnaise
Serves 4-6
You’ll need: For the avo-nnaise – 2 avocados, peeled and chopped; 50ml avocado oil; 1 tsp smooth Dijon mustard; 1 tsp crushed garlic; 1 lemon, juiced and zest; pinch of sea salt; freshly ground black pepper
For the potato salad – 500g peeled new potatoes, cooked and roughly chopped; 1 large avocado, roughly chopped; chopped chives to garnish; freshly ground black pepper to garnish
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.
To assemble the salad, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and stir through a couple of tablespoons of avo-nnaise until the potatoes are well coated.
Spoon the salad into a bowl and garnish with roughly chopped avocado, chopped chives and freshly ground black pepper.
* Recipes & images by The South African Avocado Growers’ Association.
