I don't know what possessed me to do avocados with gazpacho dressing, but I did it, and I LOVED it! Try it while avocados are plentiful.
Ingredients
—1 Tbsp finely chopped shallot
⅓ cup diced stale sourdough bread (without crusts)
½ telegraph cucumber
200g (7 ounces) canned tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
¼ tsp smoked paprika
1tsp salt
1½ Tbsp red wine vinegar
1½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ red pepper (bell pepper/capsicum), seeds removed and finely chopped
3 perfectly ripe avocados
To finish, lime or lemon wedges, small black olives in oil, small basil leaves and toasted ground cumin
Method
—Avocados with Gazpacho Dressing
1 Soak shallot in cold water for 15 minutes. Soak bread in cold water for 15 minutes.
2 Peel cucumber, cut lengthways and scoop out seeds with a teaspoon. Roughly chop the flesh.
3 Put tomatoes in a bowl and scoop out as many seeds as possible with a teaspoon, and discard with any cores.
4 Drain shallot and put it in the bowl of a food processor with the garlic, smoked paprika, salt, vinegar and olive oil. Squeeze excess water out of bread and add to processor. Blend until smooth. Add red pepper and cucumber blend again, then add tomatoes and blend until smooth. Check seasoning.
Gazpacho dressing
5 Cut avocados in half, extract stones, then remove skin. Arrange on a platter or individual plates. Spoon a little gazpacho dressing over avocados (serve the rest in a jug or sauce boat). Add a few lime or lemon wedges, scatter with olives and basil leaves and sprinkle with cumin. Serve with crusty bread.
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