Avocado Alfredo

Every now and again an epiphany occurs. Like when you do a process the same way a thousand times and then one day go, "Wait, I can do this better!" and suddenly you make a huge change. It's funny how that works; in my office, there have been things I've done the same way and then just one day realized how much better it could be with a slight change. That's the importance of a fresh set of eyes on processes; someone new to the game can show you a unique way to play it.

On this particular date, I was looking both to both fund my food habit and use up an avocado. I got a Veggetti as a gift, and man, I was thrilled to give it a go. I'd just been babbling on the phone about how useful vegetable spiralizers are, and how much I'd love one. Then, met up with a friend who gave me one as a Christmas gift not 5 minutes later. Fate, amirite? I was meant to have zucchini spirals in my life, now and forever.

Back to the star of the story, the dreamy vegetable known as an avocado. I wasn't much for avocados a few years ago. I certainly wasn't much for guacamole. A few ocurrences have changed that. Number one, the best guacamole experience I ever had, at a taco spot in Phoenix that made me question everything I thought I knew about green dips (they used ORANGE ZEST in it and it was wonderful). Number two, avocado toast. Listen, I do now know what powerful force decided to unite crunchy bread and a delightfully soft avocado, but I love them. Almost as much as the inventor of sliced chicken lunchmeat seasoned with buffalo sauce. Geniuses, I tell ya.

As everyone knows, avocados are sensitive. Much like housecats, they only want your attention for a few minutes, and then they move on. Avocados reach that perfectly ripe stage briefly, and if you miss it, you are out of luck. Period. End of story. The one that got away.

I tend to miss my window more often than I'd like to commit. I always buy produce with the best intentions. And then I get stuck at work late or some other even comes up and I get home from work too late to cook a few times in a week. That's it, then, I miss it, and the avocado is trash. It's a not so great feeling.

Well I wasn't letting that happen this time. No way. I thought about my pasta maker. I considered making marinara sauce to go with it, since it is my favorite after all. Alfredo sauce is too high in fat for me. It was then that I felt some strange sensation in my brain, much like that meme displaying the brain at levels of realization, the last one with blue lasers coming out of it...why can't I liquefy this avocado a bit and use it to thicken my alfredo? Can I skip the heavy cream altogether? WHOA.

To clarify a bit, I do know avocados are a fattening vegetable. I cook with avocado oil regularly. BUT avocado fat is unsaturated fat (see more here) and avocados have dietary fiber and vitamins.

So I first did a quick internet search to see if this had been done before, which of course it had (can't say I'm the first to think of it! Damn), but I decided to give it a go my way. Step one for me was getting my veggie noodles prepped and cooked. I just lightly sauteed them in a little bit of avocado oil until they softened.

I cut open the avocado and it was just about perfect. I scooped out the good bits and put them in a bowl, then whisked them until they were creamy. I then whisked in some milk.

I started out making alfredo as I typically would, by melting butter and then heating garlic in it until it was nice and fragrant. Then, I slowly poured in my avocado and milk mixture and cooked it on medium for 3-5 minutes until it was warm. I kept stirring it to prevent burning to the pan. Lastly, I dumped in some parmesan cheese. As I was trying to keep this vegetable oriented, I only used about 1/4 cup, but more is certainly going to make this creamier and cheesier in flavor.

Served over my zucchini noodles, and BAM! a meal reminiscent of green eggs and ham, minus the pork.

The amazing thing about this was that I didn't pick up a strong avocado flavor, despite it being a large part of the sauce. I did detect it, so someone with a blatant distaste of avocados (e.g., my boyfriend) might not be a huge fan. For me, this was a very tasty alternative to heavy cream, and I'm thrilled to have found it. I'd love some feedback!

Avocado Alfredo Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup milk
1 avocado
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large zucchini, peeled into noodles and cooked (or cooked pasta of choice)

Instructions:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until garlic begins to brown slightly. Remove avocado from skin and add to a medium bowl. Use a whisk to mash and stir until the avocado is creamy. Whisk in milk. Slowly pour into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until heated. Stir in cheese and mix until melted. Serve over pasta.