Pickled Avocados

Unique and fun, these Pickled Avocados are delicious, seasoned with lemon, garlic and rosemary.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled ... AVOCADOS!? Pickled avocados? You heard it right- they're unique and fun for an an appetizer, but they also make a fabulous light lunch served with warm pitas, hummus, tomatoes and any other fresh veggies/herbs that suit your fancy.

One thing I really love about these pickled avocados is they DON'T DISCOLOR like avocados generally do, shortly after being cut open. Which means you can serve a delicious avocado appetizer without any worries about it losing it's lovely green appearance. How cool is that?

This Pickled California Avocados w/ Lemon, Garlic & Rosemary  recipe is another project we've been working on for The California Avocado Commission. They had an idea for pickled avocados and gave me free reign in the creation process. It took awhile to get it just right; I played around with the type and amount of vinegar and herbs/spices, the pickling technique and duration and the avocados themselves.

I found out through trial and error that results were not optimum with avocados that were too ripe. In fact this recipe works best with fruit that's barely ripe. There should be only the slightest "give" when the avocado is gently squeezed. Be picky when you choose your avocados for pickling; too soft and the final product will be soft and mushy, too firm without that "slight give", and the avocado will be impossible to peel. There will be some softening that takes place during the pickling process, so don't worry that the pickled avocados will be hard.

You can slice or dice avocados any way you want for this recipe. I've sliced them thin and used them for a delicious sandwich topper and in thick wedges, almost like pickles. They can be cut in smaller wedges or cubes and threaded on skewers with cherry tomatoes and/or other fresh veggies for a delightful appetizer. Sometimes I drizzle the skewered veggies with a bit of olive oil and chopped fresh herbs.

Oh, and speaking of other veggies, almost anything can be pickled in this same brine. I've pickled cooked potatoes, cherry tomatoes and zucchini, but you could also use asparagus spears, green beans, summer squash ............... you name it! As I mentioned earlier; a fun lunch, at home or to take to work (remember, no worry about the avocados turning brown) is pickled veggies, humus and pita wedges. Drizzle it all with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and you've got a light, lean meal your lunch buddies will be drooling over!

Go to the California Avocado Commission for Pickled California Avocados w/ Lemon, Garlic & Rosemary . ENJOY!

P.S. We're a little slow on the draw today as we arrived home after midnight last night. We spent the weekend in Philadelphia at a fabulous blogger's conference called Eat, Write. Retreat! We met lots of delightful new friends, were inspired, challenged and came home with a ton of new ideas ............... and a ton of "loot". Check out all the fun stuff they sent us home with; we almost had to rent a little trailer to pull behind us!

Disclaimer:
We are compensated by The California Avocado Commission for our recipe development and photography, but the opinions are very much our own.