Fresh, simple and amazing. Later on I would have it many more times, made by Sabrina, whom we met in Paraty that time, became friends and are now god parents to her twin boys!
Today we are expecting a sunny spring day and we are shooting for barbecue with friends Lotty and Jan. I will surprise them with my 'paleo' version of the exotic avocado mousse which I like to prepare resting on a bed of nuts to give it 'more body', and cover with a strawberry blanket -to add color.
What you need
•blender or food processor
•cooking rings (1)
•aluminum foil
•strainer
Ingredients (for 4 or 6)
For the crust
•50 g walnuts
•50 g almonds
•50 g pecans
•30g black currents
•30 g coconut oil (solid) + extra for greasing
•1 1/2 tbs date molasses (or heavy honey)
For the avocado cream
•the meat of 3 medium sized ripe avocados
•2 tbs of lime juice
•4 tsp of agave
•2 heaping tbs of coconut cream (2)
For the strawberry sauce
•200 g of ripe strawberries
•1 tbs of agave nectar (3)
•3 tbs of water
What you do
•put all the ingredients for the crust in your blender and chop everything together. Stop before nuts become too small; you do not want powder
•take each ring and grease the inside of it with some coconut oil
•place the rings on a chopping board which you have previously covered with some aluminum foil
•press the nuts evenly into the bottom of each ring
•put the avocado meat, agave nectar and lime juice in the blender/food processor and blend till the content looks creamy
•remove the blade and spoon in the coconut cream, carefully folding it into the avocado
•now fill up each ring with avocado mix
•freeze (min. 2 hours)
•now wash and clean the strawberries, dice them and put them in a small pan with the water and the agave. Let them simmer at medium heat till they become soft (approx. 5-10 min.). Keep the lid on the pan so the moisture does not evaporate
•remove them from the fire and pass it all through a strainer; let it cool down
•remove the avocado rings from the freezer 3 hours before serving
•10 minutes out of the freezer, place the ring on the serving plate and carefully slide the ring off by pushing the avocado dessert down; keep the dessert in a cool dark place (pantry) till is time to serve
•decorate with some cold strawberry coulis just before serving
Remarks
(1) I say the ingredients could serve 4 or 6. It will depend on what kind of rings you decide to use. My rings have a diameter of 8 cm and are 4 cm tall. The dessert is quite rich, so you could easily decide to use smaller rings. Also, it is possible to fill the rings up to the top, or not. Play with it and you will find your own perfect balance.
(2) for the longest time I wondered what people meant when they talk about 'coconut cream'... First of all, not all coconut milk cans have coconut cream... I have bought brands that when I open them, everything seems to be mixed into 'milk'. Others I find have hard coconut on the top of the can and see-through liquid in the bottom. And some, like the one I finally found, have cream on top and thick milk under it... This is the kind you want.
How can you tell from the outside what 'kind' of coconut milk you are buying? (Because all these cans will read 'coconut milk' in the label!). Pick the one that has NO additives! My experience so far is that only the brands that have 'just' coconut milk in them, with have the right texture....
Will your dessert flop in instead of 'creamy' coconut you use 'runny' coconut milk? Probably not. You can compensate in texture if you serve it just before it has fully defrosted...
(3) if the strawberries are sweet, you might find you don't even need to add the agave nectar....
