IN THE EARLY 90S it was a race on who could do weird and wonderful things with these amazing fruits, so we had some very questionable avocado mousses, we’ve blamed eating too many avocados on sourdough for the younger generation not being able to buy a first home, and faced grasshopper-green avo cheesecakes that tasted like grass! Well it goes to show the Kiwis are mighty for giving everything a go. Globally we produce 2% of the world’s avocado supply, and we don’t import avocados, which means locally grown avos are sold in many of our amazing farmers markets, where our favoured variety is the Hass. I remember taking a job in 1996 making hundreds of kilos of guacamole for a local Tex-Mex restaurant in Napier, where I was christened The Chief Smasher. I still love guacamole – it never put me off or let me down and it’s the ultimate crowd pleaser – but here are some left-field ideas for you to try that remain my favourites to this day. Kind regards, The Chief Smasher.

1
Avocado tuna crudo & Vietnamese nước chấm Dad often went to Vietnam on his holidays and kept on telling me about this amazing dipping sauce called nước chấm, so I had to give it a go myself. For the sauce, dissolve 2 tablespoons sugar in 60ml warm water, then add 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 clove diced garlic and 1 small finely chopped bird’s eye chilli (makes 1 cup). Thinly slice some tuna and avocado and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, the nước chấm and some finely chopped coriander.

2
Avocado pasta salad with crispy bacon lardons In a blender, put the flesh of 1 avocado, 1 clove garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt and pepper and 50g ranch dressing, and blitz until you have a super creamy dressing. Pour this over 300g cooked penne pasta, mix in 100g freshly grated parmesan and some rocket or freshly chopped herbs from the garden. Sprinkle over 300g cooked bacon lardons and 100g toasted pinenuts, garnish with basil or parsley and serve. It’s a great side dish with a torn roasted chicken.

3
A wild card I know… Peeps, hear me out, these fudgy avocado brownies with a peanut butter swirl are delish. Heat the oven to 175°C and line a brownie tin with baking paper. Purée the flesh of 1 avocado then whisk in 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 75g sugar until fully combined. Sift in 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 4 tablespoons plain flour, 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt and gently fold, making sure you don’t over-mix it. Fold in 70g chocolate chips. Take 80g smooth peanut butter and dollop tablespoonfuls over the batter and make swirls with a teaspoon, then bake for 20 minutes and leave to cool.

4
Make crunchy avocado & black bean quesadillas – smiles all around as it’s technically a super toastie. Make your own refried beans by frying 1 diced red onion and 2 cloves garlic until soft. Add two tins drained black beans, 20g butter, 1 teaspoon each of dried coriander and cumin and 1 tablespoon chipotle paste. Mash with a potato masher and season to taste. Fill tortillas with the paste and sliced avocado and mozzarella, fold in half and fry in some oil in a medium-hot pan. Serve hot with some pico de gallo.

Wairoa-born Jess Murphy is chef-owner of Michelin-awarded restaurant Kai in Galway, Ireland. She was named Global Ambassador for 2024 at the Women in Food and Drink Aotearoa New Zealand Awards.