Avocado Coriander and Cilantro Pasta ~ Warm pasta in a creamy sauce of avocado and spiced with coriander and cilantro.

A couple of weeks ago I got one of those mass-generated emails from The Spice House. They had a call for photos. They have numerous recipes on their website but have very few photos. I thought it might be fun to make one or two and send some photographs to them. You can imagine the task of combing through their recipes and finding one that I actually had spices for, as they sell many exotic ones that my humble spice cabinet does not contain.

I’m glad we stumbled upon this one. It was one of those dishes that I couldn’t quite pinpoint in my mind how it was going to taste but I was very pleased when I tasted it. The assembly directions state to add garlic, but there is no garlic listed in the list of ingredients. I added two cloves of grated garlic. I chose to use lime instead of lemon (the directions say lemon or lime) because I love the flavor of cilantro and lime together.

Hope you enjoy this dish.

Avocado Coriander & Cilantro Pasta

Author: Michelle De La Cerda

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup pasta shells or bows
3 3/4 cups chicken stock – homemade or canned
4 stalks celery , finely chopped
2 cloves garlic , grated/minced
2 avocados , minced and crushed very fine
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 cup white cheddar , grated
DRESSING :
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2/3 cup virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
rind of one small lemon or a lime , grated very fine
1/2 teaspoon dry ground coriander
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 springs cilantro leaves , for garnish

Instructions

Bring the stock to boil in a large saucepan and add the pasta.
Cook at a low simmer uncovered about 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
Place pasta into a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
In another bowl, while the pasta boils, mix the celery, avocado, garlic, and cilantro.

Dressing

Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl or tightly lidded jar.
Whisk or shake until well combined.
Toss with the celery/avocado mixture.
When the pasta has cooled, combine the vegetables with the pasta by stirring gently.
Add the cheese and toss gently again.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the cilantro leaves.
Serve this at room temperature.