I like the contrast in this recipe of the smoothness of the avocado and mayonnaise and the crunchy nuts and celery, and there is also the contrast of the soft blandness of the avocado and the sharp, strong taste of the capers.

I didn’t include the cottage cheese in this recipe… or the nuts for that matter …. because they’re good for you. Far from it in fact – I’m much of the Tom Parker Bowles’ persuasion that, in the normal run of things cottage cheese is “not a cheese, but a distress call. ‘If I’m eating this my life’s in trouble'”. It was just that, rather surprisingly, all five ingredients seemed to be just the right component part of the whole concept. Maybe it’s the strong taste of the mayonnaise and capers which give the despised curds a bit of backbone. You need to maintain an open mind.

Recipe for Avocado and Crunch

Serves two as a starter, for one person for lunch

Ingredients

• one ripe avocado
• one stick of celery – chopped up small, save the leaves
• 8 pecans – dry fried and chopped
• 2 tsp capers (NOT the type in brine). If you really don’t like capers, it might be quite interesting to try with dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise – Hellman’s is fine, I use Dufour
• 2 tbsp cottage cheese
• 2 tsp smoked salt – or macho celery salt
• sweet smoked paprika

 Method

1. cut the avocado in two and remove the stone carefully.
2. mix up the other ingredients except the paprika.
3. fill the hollow left by the hole with the mixture, and put any left over on the side.
4. dust with the paprika, and put a final garnish of the celery leaves onto this masterpiece.

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