Avocados Vanessa Kendell The avocado, sometimes referred to as 'nature's butter', is a fruit unlike any other, with a repertoire of talents that goes well beyond retro prawns and sauce Marie-Rose.

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Where it comes from Green goodness

Beyond guacamole Cooking with avocados

Recipes

Some foods are inextricably linked to a certain place in time. For instance, what would 1980s nouvelle cuisine have been without a thinly sliced, fanned-out kiwi fruit adorning each artfully arranged plate? And what would the 1970s dinner party have been without the lurid pink and green presence of prawns Marie-Rose, the crustaceans stuffed inside the exciting ‘new’ fruit known as the avocado pear?

Unlike the kiwi, though, the avocado has shrugged off its retro image and is finding favour with the nation’s food-lovers.

Of course, the avocado wasn’t ‘new’ back in the 1970s, just relatively new to Britain. The avocado, or avocado pear, grows on an evergreen tree native to the subtropics of the Americas. Although the tree has been cultivated for more than 7,000 years, the avocado has only become widely known in the last century, following the introduction of new hybrids.

There are more than 500 varieties of the avocado, but they all stem from three ‘races’ - the Mexican, the Guatemalan and the West Indian. Trees of Mexican origin have aromatic leaves with an anise-like scent and bear small, dark, smooth-skinned fruit. The Guatemalan type has larger fruit characterised by thick, rough skin. West Indian avocados, which have light green skin, are the largest of the lot with fruit weighing more than 1kg.

The two varieties most commonly found in the UK are Fuerte and Hass

These days, as well as growing throughout Central and South America, the avocado also thrives in parts of Africa, Australia, Israel and the Canaries. The two varieties most commonly found in the UK are Fuerte and Hass. Fuerte avocados have smooth green skins whereas the Hass variety has a knobbly purple-black exterior and a creamy-textured, richly flavoured interior.

The avocado has the highest protein and oil content of any fruit. In fact, this soft-fleshed fruit can contain up to 30 per cent fat. Don't let the high fat content put you off, though; avocados contain only monounsaturated fat, which may help to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Daphne Lambert, a nutritionist and chef who set up Greencuisine in Herefordshire in 1996 to teach people about the connection between food and health, is enthusiastic about the avocado's nutritional benefits. ‘Avocados are packed with protein, easily digested monounsaturated oils, beta-carotene (which converts into vitamin A) and vitamin E (essential for its antioxidant properties)’, she says. ‘Yes, they are calorific but they are also an extremely nourishing food and I would urge people to include them in their diets.’

When it comes to cooking, the Mexican dip called guacamole is without a doubt the best-known avocado dish. In its home country of Mexico, recipes vary enormously depending on the region and the time of year. The mashed avocado can be combined with a paste of onion, chilli and coriander; a more elaborate version might have several types of fruit added to it.

Thomasina Miers, who recently won the title of MasterChef on ‘MasterChef Goes Large’ and who is known for her love of Mexican cooking, says avocado is used in a myriad of local dishes in Mexico. ‘Marinated pork cooked over charcoal is often topped with sliced avocado, as are seared tuna tacos. It’s also used in the delicious and fiery ceviche,’ she says. In some parts of Mexico, avocado leaves are toasted and ground to imbue dishes with an anise flavour.

Avocados must be allowed to ripen in a warm place before they’re used. To test ripeness, press the skin lightly with your thumb. If it feels slightly yielding, it’s ready to eat. Cut lengthways down to the stone and twist to separate the two halves. Pierce the stone carefully with a knife to embed the knife’s tip, then pull the stone out.

The yellow-green flesh should come away from the skin easily, but it will go brown when exposed to air, so always prepare avocados just before serving or drench in lemon juice to prevent the browning.

Savour the pale flesh for breakfast or lunch by crushing it on toasted sourdough bread along with a squeeze of lime juice, sea salt and pepper. Dice the flesh and make it into a coarse salsa with tomatoes, onion, chilli, lime and coriander to accompany grilled meats, or toss the creamy wedges gently in a salad with green leaves, crabmeat, spring onions and a little lemon.

The trick is to combine avocado with ingredients that will enhance its nuttiness but cut back on its richness.

The trick is to combine avocado with ingredients that will enhance its nuttiness but cut back on its richness. Avoid serving it with heavy sauces, cream and cheese. An exception to this rule is perhaps savoury-sweet avocado ice cream, which is popular in the Philippines.

Extra virgin avocado oil is now widely available in UK supermarkets. Use it as you would olive oil, for roasting and drizzling over salads; or serve it as a dip with crusty bread.

If you want to try your hand at something that doesn't involve the ubiquitous guacamole, here are some avocado recipes to get you started:

• Quesadillas with spinach and goats’ cheese by Jill Dupleix from Saturday Kitchen
• Californian scallop salad by Jenny Agutter from Masterchef
• Cuban-spiced mojo chicken with a warm mango and avocado salad by Kaia England from Masterchef
• Quinoa-stuffed avocado with sautéed mushrooms
• Seared beef carpaccio with avocado and beetroot salad with citrus dressing by Antony Worrall Thompson from Food and Drink