I made this smoked chicken with avocado for the first time very long ago, back in 2007. Meanwhile it is quite easy to buy an avocado you can use immediately. I remember back then I always bought them one week in advance so they could get ready for usage. You can find the dutch version here. Read more below the recipe.

Variations on smoked chicken with avocado

SaveSaveOf course you are not obliged to use smoked chicken for this delicious starter. As an alternative, you can also cut up a chicken breast and fry it. Or maybe you can try to fry chicken legs. Although in those cases you may need more spices to get a taste that is just as intense as that of smoked chicken.

Instead of a mixed salad I often use lamb's lettuce or arugula. And of course you can mix them! And how about some radishes or cherry tomatoes for the finishing touch? A finely chopped sun-dried tomato also fits perfectly with the smoked chicken.

And please do not throw away the leftovers of the smoked chicken. Because you can boil the leftover chicken in a liter of water. This will give you a nice chicken stock, which you can use to make a ratatouille soup, for example.

About avocados

Avocados originate from Central America. Mexico is currently the largest producer. The name avocado is derived from the native language Nahuati. There they are called ahuacati. This by the way means testicle. Before I never made the association. And now I will not be able anymore not to make the association... Just as you I guess. Sorry for that, but the truth has its rights.

Avocado is the fruit, actually the berry, of the avocado tree. Thus it is actually a fruit and not a vegetable. In general, however, avocados are prepared and eaten as a vegetable. Most fruits also have a much sweeter taste (higher sugar content) than the creamy avocado.

Instead of many sugars, avocados contain a lot of unsaturated fatty acids. These are good fats, as you find in oily fish and nuts. That is why avocados are sometimes called a super-food. They also provide a lot of calories.

Which countries produce avocados?

Avocados are mostly imported from South and Central America. They have thus to travel a long way to reach our kitchen. So producers will pick them before they are ripe. And they will ripen during their journey. Thus you should pay close attention in the store when you buy them. If they are still hard, they are still immature. Of course you can buy them, but then you have to let them ripen at home for a few days. Although nowadays, supermarkets often sell them with the label “ready to eat”, so directly edible. Trust is good, control is better: also check whether they give slightly when you press them. If so, they are ready to eat.

How to peel an avocado

What is the best way to peel an avocado? Their shape resembles a bit a pear. But they have a lot more pit in them. Did you know that in some languages they are called butter pears?

That's why it's best to cut them lengthwise, up to the pit and all the way around the pit. Then you turn the two halves of the fruit in opposite directions. One half will be pitted, the other half not. The pit itself then usually remove with a coffee spoon. You can then remove the peel by hand, a knife or a vegetable peeler. If you are going to puree them, you can also simply remove the pulp with the coffee spoon.

What can I do with the pit of an avocado

If you want you can also reuse the pit of the avocado. You can let it dry and then grate it into a pulp. With this you can spice your meal or make tea with it. But be careful because the tea quickly turns bitter.

The pit can also be the start of your own avocado plantation! Stick a few toothpicks into the pit, then let them grow roots over a glass of water: half the pit in the water, half above the water. But they cannot withstand the frost in winter. So you should place your young avocado plant indoors in winter, at a temperature of 10-15° Celsius.