Deborah Knight’s big avocado haul
Deborah Knight has come into a “goldmine” of avocadoes – and shared some kitchen tips for fellow fans of the fruit.
Earlier this week, the TV and radio presenter revealed her “backyard harvest” on Instagram with a picture of a basket full of avocadoes.
Speaking on her 2GB show Afternoons with Deborah Knight, she said her family had pulled out more than 20 avocadoes from the tree in the backyard of their Sydney house.
“I hit the jackpot over the weekend, I’m sitting on a goldmine at my place,” Knight said.
“And now we’ve got all of these avocadoes. We shared them with the neighbours, but we’re wondering what we can do with the surplus of avocadoes.”
She said the avocadoes were not ripe yet and asked 9Honey kitchen editor Jane de Graaff for tips on handling the fruit.
“Pop them in a paper bag with a banana – the natural gases that the banana releases will help the avocadoes ripen as well,” de Graaff said. “Or just put them in a paperbag by themselves and just leave them on the bench, they will ripen in a couple of days.”
If the avocado is still too hard or sticking onto the skin, de Graaff advised using a peeler to peel off the skin and create ribbons of avocado for a salad.
Knight continued, “Apart from guacamole, when they do ripen, what else can I be making out of these?”
De Graaff recommended smashing the avocado to put on toast or using it as a base for chocolate mousse.
“You can actually make a vegan mousse just by pureeing up an avocado, some cocoa powder, bit of honey, bit of mint if you want it in there,” she said. “Puree it all up, pop it in a glass, put it in the fridge, and you’ve got a healthy, vegan chocolate mousse.”
If the avocadoes get too ripe or soft, de Graaff offered another tip. “Put it in your pesto,” she said. “You can leave the cheese out. You don’t have to be a vegan to do this … put some avocado, blitz it up with your pine nuts and some basil leaves, and that makes the most incredible, creamy, creamy pesto.”