Crumbed avo bites

Serves 6 Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 10-15 minutes

Warm avocado is a question of taste, but the latest trend of filling halved avocados with cheese and egg and roasting them is just too rich for me. I prefer serving creamy ovenbaked avocado in crispy crumbs, or using avocado to fill jalapeños as a delicious tapa.

You need

• 4 large avocados • 5 slices Parma ham • 6 jalapeño chillies

FOR THE CRUMB LAYER • ½ cup (125ml) flour • 2 eggs • 1¼ cups (310ml) bread crumbs • 1 teaspoon (5ml) garlic powder • 2 teaspoons (10ml) chilli powder • 1 teaspoon (5ml) salt

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE • 1 cucumber • 2 cups (500ml) plain yoghurt • ½ teaspoon (2,5ml) salt • ½ cup (125ml) sour cream • 2 tablespoons (30ml) fresh lemon juice • 1 garlic clove, grated

This is how

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Slice each avocado into eighths. Cut each of the Parma ham slices into two or three pieces lengthwise. Wrap each avo slice in a piece of Parma ham and arrange in a single layer on a greased oven tray. Set the remaining avocado slices aside.

Make a T-shaped cut into each chilli, just under the stalk, but don’t cut all the way through. Once you’ve worked the seeds out (take care not to break the pod open), stuff each chilli with an avocado slice.

Sprinkle the flour onto a plate, beat the eggs in a bowl, and combine the bread crumbs, garlic- and chilli powders and salt in another bowl. Dip the chillies in the flour, then in the egg, and lastly the bread crumbs and arrange them on the oven tray. Repeat the process with the remaining avocado slices. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, make the dipping sauce by chopping the cucumber finely. Combine the remaining ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl, stir the cucumber through and serve the dipping sauce with the chillies and warm avocado bites. >