Avocados are popular in salads, sandwiches and, of course, smashed into guacamole; everyone loves the avocado.
I've always stuck to slicing and dicing avocado to add creaminess to my salads or even as a substitute for cheese on a burger, but until now I'd never thought to stuff an avocado. It's one of the easiest things to stuff, and it looks beautiful once it is complete.
When deciding what to stuff in the avocado, I wanted to create a fresh, light stuffing to blend with the smooth and creamy consistency. The first thing that popped into my head was a fluffy grain like couscous or quinoa, paired with herbs, citrus, garlic and tomatoes, so I went with it.
I love tomatoes and citrus in guacamole, so I knew diced tomatoes and lemon juice would taste great in the couscous.
First, boil water and oil, add the couscous, take off the heat, fluff and cover for five minutes. Easy as pie. I chose the couscous with roasted garlic and olive oil to skip the step of sautéing garlic before I added it to the couscous, plus it's my favorite boxed couscous. You can just as easily make a plain couscous and add your own seasoning, though.
Next, dice the tomatoes, chop the parsley and add them to the couscous. Mix everything together and squeeze in some lemon juice. After you've added a good amount of lemon juice, taste the couscous blend to see if it is to your liking, and add more juice if needed.
Now your couscous stuffing is ready to go, so all you have to do is slice the avocado in half and fill with your stuffing.
Make sure the avocados are not too soft, otherwise they will turn out to be a mushy mess, but also make sure they are not too firm because the avocado texture and couscous texture will not blend well. You want the couscous to be light and fluffy and to melt into the creamy avocado when you slice into it.
If the indention in the avocado halves is not deep enough to fill with the stuffing, use a small spoon to scoop out some avocado.
This is just one of the many things you can stuff into avocado. Use a small grain with fresh vegetables for a light stuffing, like this one, or fill the avocado halves with cream cheese and bake for a heartier stuffing. Seafood stuffed avocados taste great, too. Stuffed avocados are great as side dishes or beautiful appetizers no matter what you decide to fill them with.
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