Avocado Mousse With Raspberry Sauce and Lychee Granita

(Rowena Dumlao-Giardina)

Avocado Mousse With Raspberry Sauce and Lychee Granita

Before cutting into an avocado, make sure it is ripe. Ripeness can be gauged by the color, stem, and firmness. A ripe avocado will have dark skin, a stem that comes off easily when flicked, and flesh that yields when you squeeze it gently with your fingers. Be sure to make the mousse just before serving because avocado flesh darkens quickly if left out to stand.

Preparation Time: 1 hour Yield: 4 servings

Lychee Granita:

• 1 (15-ounce) can lychees in heavy syrup

Raspberry Sauce:

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water

Avocado Mousse:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoons gelatin
• 1/2 cup warm water

Garnish:

• Fresh mint leaves

Make the lychee granita: Purée the lychees with their syrup in a food processor. Transfer the purée to an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the granita is slushy with small chunks of soft ice, 20 to 30 minutes. Spoon the granita into a container, cover, and freeze until ready to serve.

Make the raspberry sauce: Combine the raspberries, sugar, and water in a food processor and purée. Strain the purée through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Make the avocado mousse: Combine the sugar and cream in a bowl and stir until the sugar has been dissolved. Whip the sweetened cream using a whisk or electric mixer until hard peaks form. Refrigerate.

Halve the avocados and remove the pits. Spoon out the avocado flesh with a large spoon, being sure to leave half the shells intact. Scrape the flesh out of each shell and wipe the insides clean with a paper towel. Freeze the shells until ready to serve.

Dissolve the gelatin in the warm water. Purée the avocado flesh in a food processor until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the gelatin mixture until incorporated.

Fold the avocado purée into the whipped cream until fully mixed. Cover and freeze until the mousse sets, 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, fill each frozen avocado shell with the mousse mixture to resemble half an avocado. Pour the raspberry sauce on one half of each plate. Place a scoop or two of the lychee granita on top of the sauce. Set the filled avocado shell on the other half of the plate. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.

Recipe by Rodelio Aglibot.

Reprinted with permission from “The New Filipino Kitchen,” edited by Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, Agate Surrey, 2018.

"The New Filipino Kitchen: Stories and Recipes From Around the Globe," edited by Jacqueline Chio-Lauri ($28).