Guacamole choux buns
Savoury choux buns look spectacular, yet are easy to make. Here they are filled with a creamy mixture of avocado, tomato, cucumber and cannellini beans flavoured with lime juice, fresh coriander and a touch of garlic. They make an appealing and well-balanced lunch dish, delightful with a glass of fruity white wine.
Ingredients
Serves: 5
- 1 quantity Choux pastry
- 2 Little Gem lettuces, separated into leaves
- Guacamole and bean filling
- 1 can cannellini beans, about 410 g, drained and rinsed
- 2 small avocados
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 large tomato, seeded and finely diced
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 12.5 cm (5 in) piece of cucumber, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- salt
- cayenne pepper
Method
Prep:40min ›
Cook:25min ›
Ready in:1hr5min
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F, gas mark 7). Spoon the choux pastry in 5 equal mounds on a large greased baking tray, spacing the mounds well apart. Use the spoon to make the mounds about 7.5 cm (3 in) across and 3 cm (1 1/4 in) high. Bake them for 18–20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven. Make a small hole in the side of each bun, using a skewer or the point of a small knife, then return to the oven. Bake for a further 5 minutes. Transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Tip the beans into a mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher until quite smooth. Cut the avocados in half, remove the stones and scoop out the flesh into another bowl. Mash the flesh fairly roughly using a fork, then stir into the beans together with the lime juice.
- Add the tomato, onion, cucumber, garlic and chopped coriander to the bean and avocado mixture. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Mix together well.
- Just before serving, split open the choux buns and fill with the guacamole and bean mixture. Place them on individual serving plates garnished with lettuce leaves.
Another idea
To make crunchy hummus-filled choux buns, purée 1 can of chickpeas, about 410 g, drained and rinsed, in a food processor or blender with 1 tbsp tahini, 1 crushed garlic clove and the juice of 1 lemon. Stir in a 10 cm (4 in) piece of cucumber, finely diced, 1 grated carrot, 2 finely chopped spring onions and 1 seeded and finely diced red pepper. Season with ½ tsp ground cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into the choux buns. Garnish with radicchio leaves and serve with a tomato salad.
Plus points
Cannellini beans, like other pulses, are an excellent source of protein and starchy carbohydrate, while being low in fat. * Avocados are unusual in that they are fruits that contain a large amount of fat. The fat is predominantly monounsaturated, however, particularly in the form of oleic acid. This can help to lower levels of the harmful LDL cholesterol while raising levels of the beneficial HDL cholesterol. * Lime juice contains vitamin C, which will help to improve the absorption of iron from the cannellini beans.
Each serving provides
A, E * B1, B2, B6, B12, C, folate, calcium, copper, iron, potassium, selenium, zinc
