Recipe: Avocado shake

If you haven't had one before, an avocado shake seems a bit odd, but once you've had one, you know it's exceptionally refreshing on a hot day.  When I was first introduced to it, it was through a friend who grew up in Vietnam, and we put the ingredients over crushed ice and mixed it with a spoon.  If you throw everything in a blender, you get the milkshake consistency and it's easier to make a bigger batch and serve more people.  The proportions are very much to taste - if you really like avocados, you may want one for each pint-sized serving, and the condensed milk depends on your sweet tooth.  Using ripe avocados is crucial however, unripe ones just don't have the flavour and don't mix so smooth.  This recipe uses one avocado and should serve two - you can customize it from there.  I like a squeeze of lemon or lime juice as additional seasoning, but try the original formula the first time.  A tiny pinch of salt helps the flavour come out too.  A little more adventurous (and Latin-American) would be to garnish with some crushed chilis - "Tajin" seasoning is perfect.

You will need:

1                       ripe avocado

250ml / 1C      crushed ice (6-8 cubes)

to taste             sweetened condensed milk (60-80ml / 1/4 -1/3C)

to taste             milk (60ml / 1/4C or more)

tiny pinch         kosher salt (optional)

squeeze            lemon or lime juice (about 5ml / 1tsp) (optional)

Method:

 - for the crushed ice style, divide all the ingredients between two glasses and mash them all together with a long spoon until the avocado has gone smooth

 - in a blender, add all ingredients, blend, and divide between two glasses