Soufflé de Aguacate (Avocado Soufflé)

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
April 19, 2006

ZÓCALO
174 E 82nd St
(Lexington & 3rd Aves)
New York, NY 10028
212-717-7772

At a festive Cinco de Mayo preview dinner celebrating Hass Avocados from Mexico, executive chef Julian Medina at Zócalo prepared four courses to showcase his talents and the various ways in which avocados can be used. As a noted avocado fanatic, this event was right up my alley.

Of the four courses — including a guacamole sampler for starter, avocado and foie gras as appetizer, steamed black sea bass in avocado leaf aromas with avocado tomatillo sauce for main and an avocado frozen soufflé to round out the meal — the dessert was an absolute knock-out.

This frozen soufflé mixed Hass avocado from Mexico and Meyer lemon. Julian chose to serve it at room temperature rather than frozen to keep the texture closer to that of a mousse — an excellent decision on his part, since the Meyer lemon stands out better in a fluffy mousse than in a hard frozen soufflé. The other winning touch was to use a hibiscus chile de arbol coulis instead of the ubiquitous raspberry or strawberry sauce. Hibiscus has a unique tartness that can be brought out when paired with certain fruits and teas. For me, avocado and hibiscus are a natural union of the tropics (yes, it’s the Hawaiian in me speaking). The soufflé is topped off with a dash of Marcona almonds.

This dessert was definitely unique and a real tribute to the Avocado. Kudos to Julian for his originality and success in creating such a delightful dessert and experience!

Also in Mexican, Sweets, UES, Vegetables