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Foodie Friday: Fried avocado tacos with tomato-jalapeno salad

foodie friday logo

Have you ever fried an avocado? Thought not! What better time to try it than on Foodie FRIEDay? Ok so we’re feeling a little silly here today – maybe it’s the sizzling heat, or maybe it’s just this delicious-looking recipe from Williams-Sonoma.

NOV-16_Fried-Avocado-Tacos-with-Tomato-Jalapeno-Salad-652x652

Every cook worth their weight will tell you to avoid cooking avocados, as they can become bitter. But somehow, the panko coating and the fast pan-frying overcome this problem here. And seriously, how delicious do these golden-crumbed slices look? This recipe offers a great meat-free taco option, and makes the perfect summertime treat.

Australian Hass avocados are wonderful right now – look for skin that is almost purple-black, and fruit that is tender at the stem end (but not too soft all over). Panko crumbs are Japan’s answer to breadcrumbs (but crunchier and more delicious) and are readily available from most good supermarkets and Asian grocers. Of course you can use coarse dried breadcrumbs in their place.

STYLING TIP Here’s a handy tip for tacos: lay the tortillas out flat, on a large board, and top with the filling and salad, drizzle with the dressing and scatter over extra herbs and chilli slices for a beautiful, mouthwatering presentation. Then everybody can fold their own as they lift it from the board – and eat without delay (no problems there). Do you have an avocado-addict in your life? This handy tool http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/stainless-steel-avocado-tool makes a great stocking-stuffer and is the perfect size to take to the office for those classic avo-on-toast desk breakfasts, too.

Ingredients

For the salad:

  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups (350 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the rest:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup (40 g) plain flour
  • 1 cup (125 g) panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 2 firm but ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2/3 cup (160 g) sour cream
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 8 to 10 flour or corn tortillas, warmed

Method

To make the salad, in a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tsp of the olive oil. Add the jalapeño and sauté just until soft, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, add the tomatoes and drizzle in the remaining 1 tsp olive oil. Add the coriander, season with salt and pepper, and toss to mix well. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

To fry the avocados, set up an assembly line: In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Put the flour in a second shallow bowl next to the eggs and season well with salt and pepper. Put the panko in a third bowl next to the flour. Dip an avocado wedge into the egg, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Next, dredge the avocado in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Finally, coat the avocado in the panko, making sure to cover on all sides. (Pat the coating gently to help it adhere, if needed.) Transfer to a plate. Repeat to coat the remaining avocado wedges.

In a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, fry the avocados, carefully turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.

In a bowl, stir together the sour cream and lemon juice and season with salt. To assemble, fill the tortillas with the avocados, dividing them evenly, and top with a scoop of the tomato salad. Serve immediately, passing the lemony sour cream at the table for drizzling.

Serves 4.

—Head to Williams-Sonoma for lots more inspiration, or book a cooking class in their Sydney Cooking School – it makes the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite foodie.

Categories
Expert Tips Recipes

Foodie Friday: Bucatini with Bacon, Kale and Pumpkin

foodie friday logo

If you went a little overboard decorating with fresh pumpkins for Halloween last weekend, then you’ll probably be looking for new and interesting ways to use them up this weekend. This delicious and fragrant pasta dish from Williams-Sonoma — also featuring that other veggie of the moment, kale — is a great place to start.

Bucatini-with-Bacon-Kale-and-Winter-Squash

Even if you skipped the Halloween decorations altogether, now is still a great time to pick up a beautiful whole Australian pumpkin or two (be careful not to cook the imported pumpkins sold specifically for Halloween, as these do not make good eating). Opt for the butternut, Queensland blue or Kent varieties that are readily available in supermarkets and farmers’ markets right now. When purchased whole, pumpkins don’t need to be refrigerated and will last for at least a month on the kitchen bench. Did we mention how pretty they look in the meantime?

Choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy for their size, because they tend to dry out and become lighter as they age. The skin should be hard, with no cracks, blemishes or soft spots. To cut open a round pumpkin such as a Queensland blue, steady it on a thick tea towel, very carefully insert a large, heavy knife near the stem and cut down through the curved side. Always cut away from you. Turn the pumpkin 180 degrees and repeat on the other side.

STYLING TIP A delicious rustic pasta dish like this needs to be served as quickly as possible. If you don’t have a pot trivet, add a thick folded cloth to the table and then you can serve straight from the pan, especially when your pan is as beautiful as this one. The only other thing you’ll need is a great piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating – plus an excellent bottle of red, of course.

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2.5 cm pieces
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 375 g dried bucatini
  • 90 g bacon, diced
  • 1 large golden shallot, sliced into thin rings
  • 1 bunch Tuscan kale or cavolo nero, stemmed and leaves cut into thin ribbons
  • 4 tbsp (60 g) butter
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) white wine
  • 2 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 tbsp pure cream (optional)
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
  • Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

For the fried sage (optional):

  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
  • 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves

Method

To fry the sage leaves, in a small sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Carefully drop the sage leaves, a few at a time, into the oil. They will sizzle and crisp very quickly, in 15 to 30 seconds. Using a fork or small skimmer, transfer the fried sage leaves to a paper towel–lined plate.

On a baking tray, toss the pumpkin with the olive oil, 2 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Spread the pumpkin in a single layer and roast until tender, about 25 minutes.

While the pumpkin is roasting, bring a large pot three-quarters full of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the pasta and pumpkin later, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy, about five minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the shallot to the pan and cook until translucent and tender, about five minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the kale, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted, about two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan, warm the butter until melted. Add the garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add the wine and sage leaves to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the liquid is slightly thickened, two to four minutes. Remove the sage leaves from the pan and discard. Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pumpkin, bacon, kale mixture and cooked pasta to the pan and toss until well combined, warming the mixture over medium heat if the vegetables are no longer warm.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and garnish with the fried sage and pine nuts. Serve immediately, passing the cheese at the table.

Serves 4.

— Head to Williams-Sonoma for lots more foodie inspiration, or book a cooking class in their Sydney Cooking School.

Categories
Interviews Styling

Tahnee Carroll on the switch from interior design to styling and finally finding her groove

Tahnee's work in Real Living

Tahnee Carroll was destined to work in interiors and design, she just had to work out exactly how. “As a kid, my room was never in the same layout for more than a month, I changed everything all the time! Whether I knew it or not, the creative within had found a direction.”

Tahnee Caroll at home. Photo by Lynden Foss
Tahnee Caroll at home. Photo by Lynden Foss.

Beginning her career in interior design for a luxury firm in Sydney, it wasn’t until two years had gone by that she realised it wasn’t the direction she wanted to go in. “Interior design wasn’t quite perfect for me career wise, it didn’t stimulate my creative side enough to warrant staying, but I loved interiors. I just needed to find another outlet and found photographic styling to be the perfect role for me.”

Tahnee's work in Real Living
Tahnee’s work in July’s Real Living. Photography by Brett Stevens.

Approaching Real Living magazine for a week’s work experience, Tahnee instantly fell in love with the fast-paced, creativity-fueled world of photographic styling. Following that work experience, she was offered a role as a styling assistant and worked alongside some of Australia’s best, including Glen Proebstel and Sarah Ellison.

One of Tahnee's favourite food shots I've styled, featured in Real Living's May Issue, 2014. Photography: Maree Homer
Real Living, May 2014. Photography by Maree Homer.

Assisting at Real Living for two years, she did everything from searching far and wide for that one perfect prop, unpacking products, painting and building sets and moving furniture and accessories. “You won’t need a gym membership, let me tell you that!”

Yet while she loved her job, a six-month trip overseas gave Tahnee the inspiration and confidence to step out on her own: “I decided it was time to give assisting the flick and show the industry what I could do! I created a number of moodboards of shoot ideas and put them to the editor of Real Living, Deb Bibby, who then gave me my first job styling the Weekday Meals food segment. Safe to say it was a hit and I’ve been styling the food and entertaining stories ever since.”

A shot from Tahnee's first shoot, published in Real Livings March Issue, 2014. Photography: Maree Homer
Tahnee’s first shoot as a stylist for Real Living, March 2014. Photography by Maree Homer.

Since that first job being published in Real Living’s March 2014 issue, Tahnee has progressed in leaps and bounds, styling a whopping 17 pages in this month’s issue of Real Living and being a contestant in Inside Out magazine and The Home’s Search for a Stylist contest (you can vote for Tahnee’s entry here). The competition has seen wannabe stylists pitted against each other to create a mock Inside Out cover (between you and me, Tahnee’s is my fave!) with the winner getting the chance to style a real Inside Out cover and become a senior stylist at The Home.

“We were given a small number of products from The Home to select from and use in our cover shot,” explains Tahnee. “Then we all had to design and build sets which we believed would stand out to the Inside Out readers in order to get them to vote for us. On shoot day, it was all very secretive, closed studios, tight-lipped editors and hovering stylists. The contestants weren’t allowed to see each other’s sets and everyone was watching you as you tried to create the winning cover. I had so much fun, but it’s so nerve-racking waiting for the results!” (You can vote until 23 July).

Tahnee's cover for the Inside Out Magazine and The Home Search for a Stylist Competition. Photography: Nigel Lough.
Tahnee’s cover for the Search for a Stylist contest. Photography by Nigel Lough.

While Tahnee’s assisting days are now behind her, she is very grateful for what that time gave her, recommending the experience to all budding stylists. “As an assistant, be prepared to go the extra mile,” says Tahnee. “If the stylist wants blue hydrangeas that are out of season and the only florist in Sydney that has them is an hour and a half away, well then you’d better start driving if you want to beat the traffic!”

Real Living's Top Ten Lust List as compiled and styled by Tahnee, featured in the July Issue, 2014. Photography: Brett Stevens
Real Living July 2014. Photography by Brett Stevens.

Tahnee is proof that if you do the hard work and soak up all the knowledge and skill around you, you can make it as a stylist. Just don’t be afraid to take a chance: “Be outrageous,” says Tahnee. “Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss, but that’s all part of the learning process and developing your skills.”

Love Tahnee’s work? Follow her on Tumblr and Facebook.

So, you want to be a stylist too? You should read this! Or read all our styling-related posts.