Avocado Fries with Jalapeno Cilantro Dipping Sauce

“Oh sure, it’s fat,” you’ll often hear people say as they’re adding avocado to their turkey sandwiches, “but it’s good fat.” That may be technically true; avocados are something of a miracle fruit, offering cholesterol-lowering benefits, some cancer-inhibiting benefits, and more than 25 different vitamins and nutrients. They are high in fat, but it’s mostly monounsaturated fat, which is, as fats go, the kind you want to be eating.

You know what makes eating “good” fats even more satisfying? Deep-frying them in “bad” fats until they’re hot, golden and crunchy, and then dipping them in more bad fats. This is unadulterated beer-drinking food, crispy on the outside, warm and creamy on the inside. Make a batch. You can thank me later.

Avocado Fries with Jalapeno Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Adventures in Cooking

Ingredients:

For the avocado fries:

• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• 2 avocados
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 and 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

For the Jalapeno Cilantro Dipping Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Method:

For the avocado fries:

In a deep frying pan, heat oil over medium heat to 330 degrees.

Combine bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and cumin on a large plate.

Cut avocados in half lengthwise, remove pit, scoop out of skin (keeping avocado whole) and slice vertically into thin strips.

Set up your dredging station: arrange sliced avocado, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs on separate plates, next to each other on the counter.

Dip each slice of avocado into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs, then back into the egg, then back into the breadcrumbs. Repeat until all slices of avocado are coated.

Fry breaded slices of avocado, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and let cool completely, about ten minutes.

For the Jalapeno Cilantro Dipping Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and whir until smooth.

Tagged as: avocado, fries, jalapeno

About the Author: Malcolm Bedell

My first memories of cooking start in Maine at six years old, when I wore a yellow rainslicker to avoid getting spattered by the bacon I was frying in a skillet. My interest in both Mexican cooking and recreating classic New England dishes from scratch developed while living in Mexico, on a steady diet of pork and habanero peppers. You can see more of my writing and photography online on Serious Eats, the Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Foodista, as well as in print for Downeast, Indulge, and Cigar Snob magazines.