It’s official, avo has taken over my life! I eat, dream and think about it constantly (this is not a bad thing :p)… And yay, all that thinking paid off as I finally figured out how to put my savoury ice cream to good use! 😀

This is my third and final entry into the “More than just guacamole!” Afrikado Blogger Challenge, held by ZZ2 Farming and it is quite a mouthful!

Pan Fried Fillet of Fish with Avo and Coconut Veloute, topped with Avo and Horseradish Ice Cream and Sweet Chilli Sauce

(Serves 2)

Avo and Horseradish Ice Cream:

(It’s a good idea to prepare this the night before)

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk (I used lactose free)
• 3/4 cup double thick cream
• Flesh of 1 ripe medium sized avocado
• 2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 3 1/2 tsp horseradish (I wanted to use fresh, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Eventually I found prepared horseradish, which didn’t contain vinegar or sugar)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Whisk egg and milk in a pan on the stove, over low heat, until it forms a loose custard – be careful not to split or curdle
• Strain to remove any residue and add mixture to a blender
• Add double cream and mix
• Add flesh of avocado and mix until smooth. It should thicken immediately
• Add horseradish, lemon and salt and pepper (gradually add these as the horseradish can become quite overpowering) and taste
• It is very important to keep tasting
• Once you are happy with the flavour, freeze for a minimum of 4 hours

Sweet Chilli Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 2 – 3 Tbs water
• 2 Tbs chilli (if you are using fresh make sure it is finely chopped or you can use dried)
• 2 Tbs Xylitol (sugar substitute)
• A pinch of salt
• Juice of a lemon

Directions:

• Add water, chilli, Xylitol and salt to a pan
• Cook on low heat until sauce thickens
• Add lemon juice and cook further, on low heat, you don’t want the lemon to go bitter
• When it takes on a reddish tinge and Xylitol becomes quite sticky remove from pan and allow to cool
• Flavour should be sweet, tangy, with a hint of heat

Avo and Coconut Veloute:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 2 more Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs cornstarch (original recipe calls for flour, I replaced this)
• 1 1/2 cups fish or chicken stock (I used Fish Stock Concentrate from Woolies as it contains no yeast, gluten or sugar), heated in a separate pan
• 1/2 cup coconut milk, preferably cold (to cool down the sauce so not to cook the avo)
• Flesh of 1 ripe medium sized avocado, mashed (preferably cold, to cool down the sauce so you don’t cook the avo)
• 10g parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• A veloute is a white sauce that is made with stock instead of milk
• Fry onion in butter until translucent
• Add 2 more tablespoons of butter and the corn starch and stir until it forms a roux. Cook out for a few minutes on low heat
• Gradually add the hot stock and keep stirring until the sauce thickens
• Allow to cool for a bit before adding the coconut milk and the mashed avo
• blend well
• Sieve to remove the onion so you are left with a smooth sauce
• Return to stove on very low heat, to gently heat through
• Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste
• Finish off with a dollop of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice

Other ingredients:

• 2 fillets of firm fish, with skin still on (I used Jacopever, which I was assured was on the green sassi list)
• Mashed potato
• Micro herbs

overall Directions:

• Make ice cream as illustrated above and freeze for 4 hours. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before plating
• Make chilli sauce (can also be prepared the night before)
• Make your mash (an excellent way to make mash is to bake the potatoes in their skins. Once they are cooked, remove skins and then mash with a fork, this will result in a fluffy mash with no lumps. Add butter, a little milk, salt and pepper)
• Make veloute as illustrated above
• Pan fry your fish fillets. Score the skin to make it look pretty (cutting through the skin only, diagonally about 3 times, a few cms apart). Season the skin with salt
• Add some oil to a pan and heat. When the pan is hot add the fish, skin side down
• Season the flesh side with salt
• The fish will want to curl up a bit, press it down so that it cooks evenly for a few minutes
• You will notice that the flesh will change colour (become whiter)
• When the colour change is about 1/4 of the way up the fish, flip over and cook for a further few minutes on the other side
• Add a bit of butter to the pan and spoon over the fish to give it a nice golden colour
• Remove fish from pan

Plating:

• Add your mash to the centre of the plate
• Pour your veloute around it
• Place your fillet of fish on top of the mash
• Add a dollop of the ice cream on top of that
• Finish off with a drizzle of chilli sauce (not too much, as it is supposed to lift the dish, not kill it) and a few micro herbs

And there you have a stunning fish dish zinging with a multitude of flavours. Wow your guests are your next dinner party 🙂