Jus d’avocat

Ingredients

Avocado

• 3ripe avocados
• peeled and stoned

The drink

• 600 mlcold whole milk
• 100 gsugar, or to taste
• 2 tablespoonscondensed milk, optional
• 1 teaspoonorange blossom water
• a pinch of salt

To layer

• 6dates, stoned and chopped
• 50 galmonds, chopped
• 50 gwalnuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoonsraisins
• 1 tablespoonhoney

To serve

• tall glasses
• ground cinnamon
• a long spoon

Directions

1. Check it at the stem end instead. Green underneath means it is ready. Brown underneath means it has gone too far. Preparing the avocado takes a moment.
2. Cut it in half around the stone. Twist the two halves right apart. Scoop the flesh out with a large spoon.
3. Put the avocado flesh in a blender. Add the cold milk to the blender. Add the sugar and the pinch of salt. Add the orange blossom water in. Add the condensed milk if using it.
4. Blend it until completely smooth. It should be thick and creamy. Add milk if it is too thick to pour. Moroccan avocado juice is genuinely thick.
5. Blend it and serve it within minutes. It discolours in the glass if it sits. Use milk straight from the refrigerator. Chill the glasses in the freezer if you can. Do not add ice to the blender.
6. Put chopped dates in the bottom of the glass. Add a spoonful of chopped nuts over them. Add a few raisins in with those. Pour the avocado blend over the top.
7. Fill the glass nearly to the rim. Scatter more chopped nuts over the surface. Dust ground cinnamon over the top. Add a few more dates if you like. Serving it is done immediately. Blend each one of them to order.

Technique

• This is substantial enough to replace a meal: avocado is high in fat and filling, and the milk, nuts and dates add to that considerably, so it is drunk in the afternoon between meals rather than as a light refreshment.
• Avocado is treated as a sweet fruit here rather than a savoury one, as it is in Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia; the idea of avocado as savoury is not universal.
• Avocado browns quickly once cut, so blend and serve within minutes; ice is not added to the blender because it waters the drink down and thins the texture, and cold milk gives the same chill without either.

Substitutions

• Condensed milk can replace part of the sugar and gives a richer drink.
• Any nuts work, with almonds and walnuts the usual Moroccan choices.

Variations

• Some bars blend the nuts and dates in rather than layering them.
• A version with banana blended alongside the avocado is common.
• Orange blossom water is added by some and left out by others.

History

A fixture of Moroccan juice bars, poured in layers with dried fruit and nuts and drunk as a filling snack.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jus d’avocat?

Jus d’avocat is a drink from Morocco: thick avocado and milk shake blended with almonds, dates and sugar. A fixture of Moroccan juice bars, poured in layers with dried fruit and nuts and drunk as a filling snack.

How long does Jus d’avocat take to make?

Jus d’avocat takes 15 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Jus d’avocat?

Yes, within limits. Condensed milk can replace part of the sugar and gives a richer drink. Any nuts work, with almonds and walnuts the usual Moroccan choices.

What is the most important thing to get right in Jus d’avocat?

Blend it and serve it within minutes. It discolours in the glass if it sits. Use milk straight from the refrigerator. Chill the glasses in the freezer if you can. Do not add ice to the blender.