I’ve never been religious but there must be a higher power out there… this cannot be a creation of man alone! Lots of people don’t see avocado as something to be eaten hot but encased in this light crispy batter is a whole world of creamy goodness which balanced with a sweet spicy chili sauce is just perfect.

You can use this tempura batter method for any vegetable, or fruit in fact, however this is just a little different and the textures are beautiful. As I posted about this on my instagram, someone asked whether the avocado goes soft when heated like cooked banana but it doesn’t. This is only cooked for a maximum of two minutes anyway but even using a really ripe avocado, it held it’s shape and didn’t seem affected by heat.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• Vegetable oil (I used olive oil). You need enough for there to be about 1/2 cm in the bottom of a pan. This measurement will depend on how big your pan is! I used a wok.
• 1 cup of ice cold water (add a couple of ice cubes and refrigerate whilst sorting everything out)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 whole ripe avocado

Method

Put the water and ice in the fridge to cool.

Put 1/2 cup of flour to one side (this is to dredge the avo in before dipping in the batter).

Prep your avocado- halve, stone and use a tablespoon to gently work the skin off- you should almost just be able to scoop the whole half out of the skin.

Chop avocado. I sliced mine (see photo) however any bite sized pieces would be fine. Avocado will brown when exposed to air, so don’t prep too far in advance or make sure it is protected from air with cling film.

Heat the oil in your pan to a medium-high heat.

Mix the baking powder and salt to the remaining cup of flour and add to the icy water. I used the technique from vegandaydream.com that says not to mix or whisk but to use a stabbing motion (for about 30 seconds)  to keep the batter light. Don’t worry about lumps.

Dredge the avocado in flour and lightly tap to remove excess.

Dip in the batter and let any lumps drip off. Add to the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side at most. If it browns too fast, reduce the heat slightly. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces (if you can’t find one, be creative and use a potato masher to lift pieces out of the oil!).

Place on a plate with kitchen roll to soak up excess oil. Serve as quickly as possible.

Use #veganleanne on instagram or twitter to show me your results!

I decided to serve mine with a ready made sweet chili sauce- widely available in grocery stores. I also made baked beet fries and gave them an oriental twist by using sesame oil and finishing with a  sprinkle of seeds. There will be a proper post on beet fries however the short version is  chop fresh beets, toss in oil and bake at about 180C for 45 minutes or more until cooked but not burnt (this makes a very bitter flavour). Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if nothing else, they look pretty on the dark purple flesh).