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avocado

Super Quick, Family-Approved, Herby Prawn and Avocado Salad

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Summer season = salad season. We all know that. When it’s hot outside (which it hopefully is soon) and the sun is shining we neither want to spend hours in the kitchen, nor can anyone really eat something warm. So salads are the perfect dish to eat. They are quick to make, healthy and mostly. But they can be boring so easily.

They definitely can, but they don’t necessarily have to be. If you only make the same one over and over again, I agree, this would be boring. If you switch it up though, and add basically an entire herb garden and make the best garlic prawns ever, and still only spend 15 minutes making it, then it is a really good kind a salad. And yep, it is very delicious too (my brother ate the entire bowl so it‘s got to be delicious!)!

What is special about this dish? 

Well, it definitely is not your average salad! Its not just greens & dressing & maybe some veggies – no; it is way more delicious!! To make it taste a bit more like summer and a bit fresher, we are adding a whole brunch of herbs. Mint, basil, parsley, really, whatever you have on hand. 

And also the dressing is really really fresh, since we‘re adding some lemon and even more herbs to it, but also some honey. It‘s sweetness balanced the sourness of the lemon out perfectly. And not to forget about the prawns. They are SO. good. They are fried in olive oil with fresh garlic. While it probably is not the best recipe for a date, it definitely is the most delicious way to cook prawns!! The combo of garlic and prawns simply is unbeatable! 

Is this dish healthy? 

It definitely is! There are a whole lot of greens in here. All the herbs and also the salad are packed with different nutrient and vitamins and also a lot of fibre. Adding herbs to dishes is such an easy and flavorful way to add vitamins and fibre. We also get a decent amount of essential nutrients, and also a lot of water, from the cucumber. 

The prawns account for the right amount of protein and the olive oil makes sure we are not lacking those unsaturated fats. The lemon keeps our immune system strong with its Vitamin C. The only thing that is not directly included in the salad is a source of carbohydrates. But here you could just have some whole grain bread on the side or add some quinoa or couscous in the salad. 

How to make this dish?

There are three things that need to be done. 1. prepping the veggies; therefore we need to wash the salad, slice the cucumber and peel and chop the avocado into cubes. 2. making the dressing; here we need to mix some olive oil, lemon juice, honey and the finelly chopped herbs. And 3. we need to make the prawns; that really only comes down to finely slicing some garlic, frying it in hot oil for about 30 seconds and then adding the prawns and cooking them on each side for about 3 minutes. And voilà! 

In case the prawns are frozen

just add them to a bowl with some hot water (not boiling one, just warm one) and let them stand for about 30 minutes, changing the water every 10 minutes to let them thaw without cooking. Then just pat them dry with a kitchen towel and cook as the recipe says! 

This salad is amazing for those hot summer days or for whenever you are craving something light and healthy and fresh. It anyway is very easy to make and a must try! 

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Super Quick, Family-Approved, Herby Prawn and Avocado Salad

Salads in summer are simply perfect. But always having the same one over and over again also can be veryyyy boring. That’s why we need to switch things up and make this delicious goodie.

Course lunch, Salad
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

For the prawns:

  • 800 g prawns*
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic

For the salad:

  • 1 head of salad
  • 1 avocado
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon (only the juice)
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped dill

How to

  1. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Heat up the olive oil and butter in a pan and sauté the garlic in the hot oil for about 30 seconds, then add in the prawns. Fry them on each side for about 3 minutes until pink and cooked through. 

  2. In the meantime finely chop the herbs and mix them with the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and honey. 

  3. Wash and tear the salad into bite sized pieces. Half the avocado, remove the pit and scoop it out with a spoon. Then cut into about 1cm sized chunks. Also add this to the salad. 

  4. Mix with the dressing and divide onto the bowls. Top with the prawns and garnish with fresh dill. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*if the prawns are frozen, add them to a bowl and cover them with warm water. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then drain and repeat until they have thawed. Then lay them onto a kitchen towel and tap them dry. 

I genuinely hope that you‘ll enjoy it! 
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

The Easiest 15 minute Saucy Avocado Pasta

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Pasta itself is a dream. Avocado itself is a dream. Well, can you now imagine what the combination of pasta and avocado tastes like? Like the best dream. Not only does it taste amazing, no, it also is incredibly easy to make (as easy as tomato sauce), super healthy and soso simple. Really, there is no excuse left not to make this!

What’s special about this dish?

It is everything else than traditional (sorry to all my Italian fellows, if this may hurt you). Avocado does not really grow in Italy and defintely is not eaten with pasta. Usually you’d eat it with bread, in bowls, with nachos or just as is. And I mean, all of those are some sort of carbohydrates – so is pasta! Why not eating avocado with pasta then? So besides it being very non-traditional, it also comes together really really quickly.

Plus, it is very versatile. If you want it springy, go ahead and add some herbs or dill, if you want it vegan, substitute the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast and the greek yoghurt for a plant based yoghurt. If you wanted it a bit more meaty, you could also fry some bacon in a pan and toss it into the sauce, so you have a kinda cabonara-style avocado pasta. Or you could also fry some prawns or chicken and add that on top. It really is up to you and your preferences how you make this and that makes it really special and great!

Is this even healthy?

Yep, yep! Avocados are superfoods, this needs to be said. They are loaded with healthy (omega-3) fats, which are great for your brain and your heart. Then they also contain more potassium than e.g. bananas, great for your cells and heart, they contain a bunch of fibre, so your digestion works perfectly and they contain numerous different vitamins and minerals to keep you feeling fit and healthy.

Then we also have some greek yoghurt, which is loaded with protein and calcium, parmesan cheese, which is loaded with deliciousness, fresh herbs (always a nutrient bomb) and the pasta. Pasta, unlike many claims, can actually be very beneficial for you. The carbs give you lots of energy to do all the things you love. Plus, if you go for whole-grain pasta, you get another dose of fibre and minerals. And, obviously, pasta is very good for your soul 🙂

How to make this?

When I say this is easy, I mean this is EASY. You start by boiling the pasta (according to package instructions). Then we either use a blender or a fork to continue. When doing it with a fork, it will be less creamy, more like a pesto-guac consistency. When blending it’ll be saucy. So we grate the parmesan, and either add it to a bowl or a blender with chopped up herbs, greek yoghurt, grated garlic and mashed avo. And then we either mash or blend it until creamy.

Before the pasta is done, we’ll reserve some pasta water, then drain it and mix it with the avocado sauce and the pasta water. That already is it! Really easy right? Now you can add any toppings you like, if you want to, like tomatoes, prawns, chicken, chickpeas, or just more cheese (always a good choice)!

This dish really is perfect for summer, or warm spring days, for easy lunches or quick dinners. I would even say it´s justifiable as a brunch dish (bc it’s basically like avocado toast just with pasta, right?). Regardless or when you’ll enjoy it, I hope you will enjoy it! Have a great time cooking!

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The Easiest 15 Minute Saucy Avocado Pasta

Easy, delicious, healthy. Just on another level. The combination of pasta and creamy avocado sauce is just like a bite into heaven, plus it is so incredibly easy to make! A must try!

Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 500 g pasta (spaghetti work best)
  • 1,5-2 avocados (depending on how big they are)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 100 g parmesan cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp chopped herbs (a mixture of dill, basil and parsley works best)
  • sea salt
  • mozarella, prawns, chicken or anything else to serve with

How to

  1. Bring a pot with salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. 2 minutes before they're done, you can reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain them.

  2. If you have a blender, peel the avocado and the garlic, grate the parmesan and add everything to a blender and mix until creamy.

  3. If you do not have a blender, mash the avocado, grate the parmesan and garlic and mix and mash everything in a bowl until as creamy as possible. You may need some (plant based) milk).

  4. When the pasta is done, mix it with the sauce and a bit of the pasta water to start with (you can add more later on if you feel like it needs to become a bit creamier).

  5. Divide onto bowls and serve with whatever you love! Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Not You Average (much better) Hummus and Falafel Picnic Bagel

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The name says it all. Definitely not your average bagel. This is something so much better, I promise. Recipe 2 of the picnic series, and it only is getting better, although it is hard to top the beluga lentil salad an curry hummus stuffed pita. Yet, we managed to do so. Slightly sweet and crispy bagel with creamy hummus, fresh greens and radishes, crunchy falafel and soft and salty avocado. Oh my. If I were you, I would be running to the store right now.

Bagels are just amazing by themselves already. We really need to take a moment and thank the inventor of thebagel (who by the way was Austrian!!!) for this amazing creation. Invented by accident, probably the best accident ever, and now a staple around the world. And really, cream cheese and salmon bagels are amazing, no need to doubt that, yet there are so many other combos that just taste unreal in a bagel, which you need to try out – just like this one!

Where to get good bagels?

This is really important, because if the bagel itself does not taste amazing, the entire dish only tastes half as good. So, in Vienna there are 2 places I love to get my bagels from. The first one is Budapäst Bagels – they have been the (much deserved) restaurant of the month in march and definitely have amazing bagels. You can just grab some plain bagels there and fill them at home! The other place that never lets you down is Joseph Brot. They have several shops in Vienna, so you can just choose one that is close to you. The only disadvantage here – they are sold out so quickly always! So you got to get up early for your bagels.

What’s special about this dish?

It is a mix of the traditional bagel and a falafel pita or sandwich and an avo toast. So, really the best of everything combined! Instead of spreading a bagel with cream cheese, we are spreading it with hummus. And filling it with falafel. Yep, it gets quite thick and tastes amazing. Plus, we have some springy goodness with the fresh veggies and sprouts. This bagel combo really is (not exaggerating here) life changing.

Plus, also this recipe is part of the NENI x Une Petite Cuisinière picnic series! Which means, you can use the (super delicious) Neni am Tisch products to make this. In other words, you get some healthy deliciousness in no time.

Is this dish healthy?

We got to be honest, it probably it not the most nutrient dense dish ever. It though, also is not unhealthy. The thing is that most of the time bagels themselves are not highly nutritious. To achieve their slightly sweet flavour, there often is sugar in them and they rarely are made with whole-wheat products. They do provide you with a bunch of carbs though, yet not many complex ones and not much fibre.

Nevertheless the fillings are nutritious. We have a lot of chickpeas in here – in form of hummus and in form of falafel. Chickpeas are high in protein and fibre and therefore a great plant-based food. Plus, we have some greens & radishes, meaning more vitamins and some avocado for healthy fats and deliciousness (what even is a bagel without avocado?).

How to make this dish?

This probably is one of the easiest things you’ve ever made. All you need to do is pop the falafel into the oven (this is no must, popping them into the oven just really lets them crisp up again and makes them taste much better). In the meantime we are toasting the bagel, slicing the radishes and cutting the avo.

When falafel and bagel are done, we spread some of the (best) Hummus onto the lower half of the bagel, add the falafel, the radishes, some cress or sprouts and top it with the avo. Now we got to sprinkle it with some sea salt, close it with the top and take it onto our picnic. A perfect dish for a perfect picnic!

What about meal prep and picnic?

Obviously the bagel won’t be crispy anymore when it has been stored in the fridge or in a container to be taken onto a picnic, nevertheless, it still is as delicious! If you just leave it like that, it will be a bit of a mess to eat though. To avoid that, it is best if you cut it in half and then take some parchment paper, cut a strip off it, wrap it around the bagel-half and then fix it with a string. That way everything holds together and you can eat without everything falling apart.

If you wanted to bagel to be a bit more crispy, you could also toast it beforehand and bake the falafel, then put both into a bag (not air tight!!) and take the avocado, sprouts, radishes and hummus in a separate container and fill the bagel at your picnic spot! This makes it all a bit fresher!

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Not your average (much better) Hummus & Falafel Picnic Bagel

crispy bagel with creamy hummus, crispy falafel and creamy avocado. This is the bagel combo you have been misisng out on all your life, I promise. It is so good that you will want to have it every day and take it on every picnic.

Course Breakfast, brunch, lunch, picnic
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten

What you will need

  • 1 bagel
  • 5 NENI am Tisch Falafel
  • 2-3 tbsp NENI am Tisch Hummus
  • 1/2 avocado
  • a few radishes
  • sprouts/ cress

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the falafel onto a baking tray and bake them for 10-15 minutes to get them crispy again.

  2. Slice the bagel in half and toast it.

  3. In the meantime slice the radishes and avocado and chop the cress.

  4. When the falafel are done, spread the bagel with the hummus, add the falafel, radishes and sprouts, and lay the sliced avocado on top. Sprinkle with some sea salt, close the bagel with the top and enjoy!

Regardless or which way you choose to take you bagel to the picnic, it’ll be delicious and I hope that you will also find it to be delicious and enjoy it!

Have a wonderful picnic,
Love,
Katie

Savory French Toast

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If you have been following me on the blog for a while, you will have probably noticed that I am more on the savory breakfast side. Not that Avo toast and poached egg could ever become boring, but sometimes it is nice to switch things up, or to try out something different whenever you have a little time. This savory French toast is the perfect example for that.

Yes, savory French toast. No that’s not the one that is covered in a liter of maple syrup and a ton of sugar but that one that is covered with cheese and sprinkled with chives and topped with a poached egg. So. Much. Better. Honk breakfast sandwich but with a twist, which takes it next level.

When to have?

I would not have this everyday, because therefore it is a little rich but you can have it every now and then after a sleepin or as a hangover cure. Or make it for brunch when you have friends over or even as a breakfast for dinner because that is a decent option! It does not take long to make, as almost all of my recipes because who likes to wait a n hour when your tummy is growling? No one, right. 

What’s it made of?

Very few ingredients. First up; bread. Here I like to use dark or whole grain bread because it has a more intense flavor then white bread I believe, and it is a little healthier, which can never hurt! Next; eggs. Ken for the dipping batter and one poached one on top, which will be super yolk porn with that runny inside. Other than that we need some milk of your choice, grated Parmesan cheese, sea salt, herbs and black pepper for the batter.

As for the toppings, it is really up to you. I can’t leave out on Avocado of course (what’s a break my without?), and poached egg. Some more cheese and some super flavorful sautéed cherry tomatoes for that color touch and more flavor. I finished of with a sprinkle of chives. If you wanna do bacon, do bacon, if you are all the way down for hummus, you can top it with that! Really it is up to you. With such a delicious base you can’t really fail with the toppings! 

This recipe will make you look like a perfect chef at the next dinner party because it is so good. And super simple and versatile.

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Savory French Toast

Brunch, Hangover cure or breakfast for dinner. This is the pefect dish. Crispy and soaked bread with tangy cheese, runny yolk and creamy avocado = perfection.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Main Course
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 serving
Calories 407 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 slices bread (whole grain is best)
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 ml milk of choice
  • a pinch of salt
  • some pepper
  • 1 tsp italian herbs
  • 30 g parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • a handful cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 avocado

How to

That is how it works:

  1. In a bowl crack one egg. Add the milk, salt, pepper and herbs and mix everxthing. Add in about a third of the cheese and dip the bread into it.

  2. Bring a pot with water to a boil and heat up the oil in a pan. Once the water boils add in the vinegar. Take a cooking spoon and make a swirl in the water. crack the two eggs into two seperate bowls. Reduce the heat until the water only simmers anymore. Take one and carefully and slowly let it slide into the water until it has set a little, then take the next one.

  3. Meanwhile place the bread slices into the oil and sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese. fry for about 2 miuntes on each side on high heat.

  4. In a seperate pan quickly stir fry the tomatoes until soft, if you decide to use some. Cut the avocado into slices.

  5. Take the bread out of the pan and place it onto plates. top with teh avocado and tomatoes. Take the eggs out of the water after 3-4 minutes and lay them on a paper towel to let the excess water drip of. Add on top and finish with a sprinkle of chives and the remaining cheese.

    Serve & enjoy!