When I lived at home my mum would always make a starter of halved avocado filled with prawns and a garlic French dressing for special occasions. I decided to bring this starter up to date by fanning the slices onto a plate and using Balsamic instead of white wine vinegar and walnut instead of olive oil. The marriage of avocado, prawns, garlic and balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven. I hadn’t made this dish for years and on giving it to my husband for lunch the other day he was extremely pleased and said “this really works”. If you can push the boat out for the Walnut Oil it’s well worth it as it goes so well and I also use it to make cakes with instead of olive oil, otherwise just use olive oil! (I must admit I bought mine in a sale!) I think this makes the perfect light lunch or would be great as a starter at Christmas and any leftover dressing is excellent on salad. There is probably enough dressing for 8 servings if you are scaling this recipe up.
I was also sent the Oxo Good Grips 3-in-1 avocado slicer this week and it worked a treat. It cuts, it de-stones and it slices, a fab new gadget!
I am entering this dish into Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love Mondays Challenge.
First make the dressing by shaking all the ingredients together.
Then prepare the avocado.
Arrange the avlocado slices in a fan shape.
Arrange the prawn on top and pour on the dressing.
Enjoy!
Enjoy with some buttered wholemeal bread!
- 1 Avocado
- 60g Frozen prawns (thawed)
- For Balsamic Dressing:
- 4 Tbsp Walnut oil
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 2 Cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 Small pinches sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground pepper
- Put all the dressing ingredients into a salad dressing shaker, season to taste and shake vigorously.
- Prepare avocado by cutting in half, removing stone, skinning and cutting into slices.
- Arrange avocado slices on plates or small dishes.
- Decorate with the prawns and then pour over as much dressing as you wish.
- Serve with buttered wholemeal bread.
Disclaimer: I was sent the Oxo Good Grips 3 in 1 Slicer and have not received any payment from Oxo.
37 comments
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Paul Wilson
02/07/2015 at 12:21 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Great combination.
Camilla
02/07/2015 at 10:36 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thanks Paul, one which I’ve been eating for decades and daughter loves it too:-)
Anne Dalzell
11/11/2014 at 11:26 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I’ve only just started eating avocado as the colour put me off. It’s a fantastic veg to work with and my little 9mth old girl loves it.
Camilla
11/11/2014 at 11:34 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Yes I used to give it to mine and with mashed banana – so good for them:-)
Kirsty Fox
29/09/2014 at 8:15 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
This looks delicious, I love prawns they are one of my faves!
Camilla
30/09/2014 at 4:28 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Same here:-)
Elizabeth
14/08/2014 at 3:40 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Still not sure about prawns (I really need to get over that aversion) but this does sound like a lovely starter!
Camilla
15/08/2014 at 6:15 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Oh they are so lovely, you really need to conquor this one:-)
Paul Wilson
07/07/2014 at 12:07 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Love the avocado slicer.
Ursula Hunt
06/06/2014 at 2:02 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Great summer lunch
Ursula Hunt
18/02/2014 at 3:05 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Great Starter
Paul Wilson
29/01/2014 at 3:43 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I bet the balsamic gives it some zing.
Tracy Nixon
19/01/2014 at 6:38 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
This is a wonderful combination – I have it as a starter at a local restaurant!
Helen Allan
10/01/2014 at 2:50 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Prawns are always popular with my boys but whilst I don’t eat them, I do love avocado so this would be a great starter for all of us to enjoy with a special meal. I could simply substitute the prawns for ham or something similar for myself.
Camilla
10/01/2014 at 3:23 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Or just leave out altogether you don’t need the prawns for it to still be delicious:-)
Maya Russell
15/11/2013 at 6:10 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I bought and avocado slicer and avocado keeper for a friend of mine who eats loads of avocados. She says they are so useful.
Lisa Williams
02/11/2013 at 10:15 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
you always come up with such fab flavour combinations this is such a great idea 🙂
Camilla
02/11/2013 at 11:24 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Aah, thank you:-)
Maya Russell
20/10/2013 at 5:15 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Walnut oil is very good for you. As part of a healthy diet it may help prevent heart disease.
Ursula Hunt
18/10/2013 at 2:35 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Love Avocado, this looks lovely
Paul Wilson
27/09/2013 at 1:43 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
This looks very nice.
21/09/2013 at 10:13 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I love Prawns but that’s it. Looks nice though
Heather Haigh
14/09/2013 at 12:47 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Love prawns and avacado, and recipes that don’t take too long, will definately give this a go.
Carla Hovell
02/09/2013 at 2:05 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Gave it a go. My 9 year old son loved it!
Maya Russell
15/07/2013 at 5:11 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
It really looks delicious. Great combination.
Javelin Warrior
25/11/2012 at 3:43 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for sharing this delicious appetizer with Made with Love Mondays – I love the contrast in color and texture between the avocado and prawns…
Camilla
25/11/2012 at 4:14 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thank you Mark always a pleasure to enter your challenge!
Karen
24/11/2012 at 8:14 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
A classic is always in fashion and I also love your modem days twist too! I have still got to test my Oxo pineapple corer yet….fun! Karen
Camilla
24/11/2012 at 8:27 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thanks Karen! We must be psychically connected Karen because I was just thinking about the time Oxo offered you the pineapple corer in a tweet and how I hadn’t seen it used on your blog yet – spooky!
Laura@howtocookgoodfood
24/11/2012 at 7:25 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
You know these are the flavours I never tire of. I have always loved prawns and avocado for as long as I can remember and pairing them with a rich and nutty dressing is the best idea for these ingredients. I’d like some lovely bread to dip into that sauce…..mopping up the juices is essential!
Camilla
24/11/2012 at 7:38 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thank you for your intelligent appraisal:-)
Mich - Piece of Cake
23/11/2012 at 5:14 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I love all the ingredients involved… prawns, balsamic and avocados. I could eat a plateful, never mind the calories…
Camilla
23/11/2012 at 9:20 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thanks Mich, I actually think this dish is not that high in calories compared to say prawn cocktail and the fats are good fats from the avocado and walnut oil so very healthy!
Jen
22/11/2012 at 6:53 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I picked up some reduced price avocados a couple of days ago and just waiting for them to ripen up. Not decided what to do with them yet but this is a strong contender. Haven’t had prawns for ages as OH doesn’t like them. Great update on a classic combination 🙂
Camilla
22/11/2012 at 9:19 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Sometimes you just have to make what you want or you’d never eat it Jen. I know this from experience!
Jacqueline @How to be a Gourmand
22/11/2012 at 7:33 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
A classic starter with a lovely twist Camilla – don’t think I’ve tried walnut and balsamic together.
I must say your avocado slices are very nicely presented. Half the time when I cut them the ends get a wee bit squidgy. Looks like you are making good use of your gadget 🙂
Camilla
22/11/2012 at 10:59 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thank you Jacqueline, the walnut oil really married off well with the avocado and has such a smooth subtle flavour. I’m loving the gadget as my daughter loves avocado so it goes in most salads we have as she’s not keen on tomatoes or lettuce!
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