This one ticks all the boxes. Gluten-free, organic, sustainable, low food miles, seasonal, community-minded, delicious and free.
I’m referring to a bag of limes and avocados given to me by Rosie. The avocados came from a tree overhanging her backyard and the limes from one of her green-fingered friends.
So what to do with so much produce? Well, firstly I squeezed some of the limes and froze the juice which will be very handy for a lime tart at a later date. Or a neat ice cube in the gin and tonic.
I could also make Charmaine Solomon’s fantastic lime and date chutney, or preserve them like lemons. They have already flavoured icing, cured fish and added zip to a vinaigrette.
I pureed some of the avocados, added lime juice to taste and sprinkled the glorious green mix with some ground Japanese chilli for a simpler, Asian version of guacamole. They have gone into salads various and on our g-f lavosh with prawns and rocket.
The fruit has also decorated the dining table in a big bowl, reminding me of the lovely challenge to use this abundance of generosity.
Caren
PRAWN, AVOCADO AND CITRUS SALAD
Serves 4
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 large navel orange (plus extra for juice if needed)
1 lime (plus extra for juice if needed)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch salt
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, blanched
2 green onions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 large avocado
½ bunch watercress, picked, washed and dried
8 raw king (raw) prawns, heads removed, peeled and deveined, tails left on
Remove all the skin and pith from the citrus fruit. Over a bowl to catch the juices, segment the fruit by cutting in between each membrane and removing the segment.
To make the dressing, strain the juices into a jug, reserving the citrus segments. You will need 200 ml of juice. If you don’t have enough, make it up with extra orange juice or orange and lime juice if your oranges are particularly sweet.
Place the juices into a small saucepan and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Allow to cool.
Whisk in the sesame oil, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add some lime juice if the dressing is too sweet.
When ready to serve, bring a pan of water to a simmer.
Toss the blanched asparagus in some dressing.
Toss the watercress, avocado, green onions half the sesame seeds and citrus segments together with some dressing.
Place the asparagus and salad onto four plates.
Cook the prawns in the simmering water until they are just cooked – 1-2 minutes then remove and toss in some dressing.
Place two prawns on top of the salad on each plate and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds.