If you’ve ever seen avocado toast on Instagram, you’ll have probably seen the infamous avocado rose. Buttery and unctuous slices of barely ripened avocado arranged lovingly in a circular arrangement resembling a blooming flower. Truly a sight to behold. Beautiful enough to charge $8 for a slice of toast. For real.
Despite the ridicule that Avocado toast receives for being a “hipster” dish, I personally love it. Mind you, I wouldn’t see myself paying for it unless it was something truly mind-blowing and awe-inspiring. Being a person of limited means and fairly decent knife skills, I am here to say that I am fully capable of making my own insta-worthy creation and now so will you.
Really this is more of a technical exercise than a recipe, but as you start to cook with me, you will learn that all these techniques that become part of your arsenal come in very handy. We are building components that can be used in other places and recipes that will make you a more rounded cook.
The avocado rose is something that will work your knife skills. The repetitive slicing and thoughtful arranging of the ingredient can be carried over to many different ingredients like cucumbers, radishes, apples, fish, etc. Now imagine all the possibilities of all those different ingredients next time you plan your next dinner party or get together.
All you need to do the avocado rose is a perfectly ripe avocado and a sharp knife, and maybe an idea for what you want to do with it afterward. Simply cut the avocado in half lengthwise, running your blade around the pit of the fruit. Twist the fruit separating the halves til they come apart.
Take one of the halves and carefully peel off the skin. If you have a ripe avocado, the skin should be pliable enough to come off. once you have a naked half fruit, thinly slice it across the width carefully so as not to displace any of the slices. This is made easier with a wet blade.
Once that’s done, just gently skew the slices sideways to make everything longer. Once you have a long enough shape, simply shape it into a circle by curling it into itself…kind of like rolling it up. In the end, you will have something that resembles a rose. If you don’t, you probably have green fingers and another half fruit to try again. It takes practice to become proficient but soon you will be a real fruit ninja.
From here you can add them to your avocado toast, rice or Buddha bowl, or other spread that needs a fancy hit of colour.
