Title: Avocado Stuffed with Smoked Fish (West Africa)
Categories: African Seafood Ceideburg
Yield: 4 Servings

4		Hard-cooked eggs *
1/4	c	Milk
1/4	c	Strained fresh lime juice
1/4	ts	Sugar
1/2	ts	Salt
1/3	c	Vegetable oil
2	tb	Olive oil
1/2	lb	Smoked whitefish
2	lg	Ripe avocados
12		Strips of fresh red bell pepper or canned pimiento **

* the yolks rubbed through a sieve and the whites finely chopped.

** each cut about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long.

In a deep bowl, mash the egg yolks and milk together with a spoon or table fork until they form a smooth paste. Add 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, the sugar and the salt.

Then beat in the vegetable oil, a teaspoon or so at a time; make sure each addition is absorbed before adding more. Add the olive oil by teaspoonfuls, beating constantly. Stir the remaining lime juice into the sauce and taste for seasoning.

With your fingers or a small knife, remove the skin from the fish and pick out any bones. Drop the fish into a bowl and flake it finely with a fork. Add the chopped egg whites and the sauce, and toss together gently but thoroughly.

Just before serving, cut the avocados in half. With the tip of a small knife, loosen the seeds and lift them out. Remove any brown tissue like fibers clinging to the flesh.

Spoon the fish mixture into the avocado halves, dividing it equally among them and mounding it slightly in the center. Arrange 3 strips of sweet pepper or pimiento diagonally across the top of each avocado and serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

From "African Cooking", Laurens van der Post and the editors of Time Life Books, "Foods of the World" series, 1970. LOC # 77-119620.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; February 24 1993.

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