Avocado and Cranberry Coulis Phyllo Cups

I entered this recipe, an original (yahoo! I made my own recipe) in an avocado contest through the cooking school. It's best to use perfectly ripe avocados to maximize the taste. Sorry I don't have photos. Oh, no it didn't win, but it was still fun to create my own recipe.

Avocado and Cranberry Coulis Phyllo Cups
8-10 mini phyllo cups
1/3 cup whipped cream cheese
1/3 cup pureed cranberry coulis (recipe below), room temperature
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 Avocado, small dice
1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
Optional ingredients: lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place eight to ten mini phyllo cups on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for three to five minutes or until crispy. Meanwhile, dice on half of an avocado into small cubes and set aside. Chop pecans into very small pieces. Pull phyllo cups from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the phyllo cups cool, spoon or pipe (using a piping bag and tip) the whipped cream cheese into the bottom of the phyllo cup to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Place the cranberry coulis on top of the whipped cream using a spoon or piping bag. Sprinkle eight to ten granules of kosher salt on top of the cranberry coulis. Place a heaping pile of diced avocado on top of the coulis and finish with a sprinkling of chopped pecans. Finish with lemon zest on top.

Cranberry Coulis
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 T orange juice
1 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Whisk sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Place on burner and turn into medium high heat and add water. Whisk ingredients together. As mixture starts to simmer, add butter, cranberries and nutmeg. Stir frequently and let the mixture boil until it thickens. Once thickened, allow coulis to cool down for about five minutes and use an immersion blender to puree any remaining cranberry bits. Optional step: if you desire an extra smooth coulis, run it through a chinois or strainer. Allow coulis to cool to room temperature before using. The coulis may be made in advance and stored in a refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before use.

In a future post, I will add a recipe for Bobby Flay's Roasted Red Pepper sauce as it would work as a great substitute for the cranberry coulis. The recipe is from his Mesa cookbook if you have access to it.

Bon Appetite!