I rarely find good Avocados here in Mumbai and whenever I get an opportunity to source them from Bangalore, I never miss that chance. Recently, I got hold of a few avocados which were sent by my mom from Bangalore.While I mostly use Avocados to prepare my favorite Butterfruit Milkshake or Guacamole, I reserved a few this time to experiment something new. Avocados have a natural buttery taste and makes the dish really rich and hence it worked beautifully even in this pasta recipe.I have combined the avocado with tomato to reduce the dominance of the buttery taste of avocado as TH is not very fond of it.You would not not miss cheese in the recipe as the sauce feels rich due to the avocado.The recipe is quite similar to any pesto recipe minus the nuts and cheese.
Check out other Pasta recipes in my blog, if you are interested:
Basil Pesto with Spiral Pasta
Macaroni with Roasted Vegetables and Herbs in White Sauce
Pasta Salad
Spinach Pesto Penne Pasta
Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Creamy Avocado Pasta Recipe:
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
2 cups of Pasta(any shape would do,I used fettucine)
1 Onion,finely chopped(optional)
1-2 Garlic pods,finely chopped
1/2 tsp Red chili flakes
1/2 tsp Pepper corns
2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt to taste
Avocado Sauce:
1 small Avocado or 1/2 big Avocado
1 large ripen Tomato
1-2 Garlic pods
1/2 tsp freshly ground Pepper
1 tbsp dried Basil or 1/4 cup fresh Basil leaves
2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Method:
To Cook Pasta:
Cook the pasta according to the instructions of your package or follow this procedure:
Bring water to boil in a big pot (filled to its half) and add salt,1 tsp olive oil and pasta and cook over medium flame for 10-12 mins until al dente(cooked and tender to teeth).
Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of water for later usage.you can even give a cold bath to the pasta by running it under fresh tap water which helps in keeping the pasta separate.
To prepare Avocado Sauce:
Mark a cross on tomato and bring water to a boil and add the tomato to it and boil for 2 mins and remove the tomato.After it cools down,peel the skin and roughly chop it and keep it aside.
In a mixer add scooped avocado, chopped tomato, basil leaves or dried basil, garlic pods, pepper, olive oil, ground pepper, salt and griund to a smooth paste.
Now check for the taste and adjust the salt and pepper for the pesto.We will add salt and pepper even to the pasta,so keep that in mind and adjust the seasonings.
To prepare Avocado Pasta:
Heat olive oil in a wide bottomed pan and fry sliced garlic until slight brown and add thinly sliced onions and fry until they are pink and soft.
Add cooked pasta and mix well until all the pasta is covered with the sauce and is warm.Now add red chili flakes,salt and pepper and mix well.
Dish it out to the serving platter and serve with the generous portion of Avocado sauce.Drizzle extra Olive oil and some pepper and dried basil on top.As we are using Avocado in the recipe it is not advised to heat the sauce,just serve the sauteed pasta with the freshly made sauce.
Serve it immediately.I also served it with some sauteed bell peppers as I like the bite of vegetables in my pasta.
Notes:
To make sauteed peppers - heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan,add finely chopped 1 garlic pod and add 1/2 chopped onion and 1 cup chopped colored bell peppers and saute them for 2-3 mins.Season it with salt and pepper.You can even add some Italian herbs and red chili flakes if you want.
As we are using Avocado in the sauce it is not advised to heat the sauce,just serve the sauteed pasta with the freshly made sauce.
You can use any pasta variety for this like Penne,Fusili,Sphagetti etc.
Do not add more garlic pods as the flavor will dominate the avocado sauce.
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