AVOCADOS!   Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like them?  They are one of my very favorite vegetables (?) packing all the nutritional goods your body needs.  Only they are not vegetables – they are fruit!  🙂   It’s an idea popular with  food bloggers but making an avocado “sauce” for my Southwest Chicken Pasta with Avocado Sauce was absolutely brilliant and one of the BEST things I’ve discovered for my pasta world!  (Tennis Pasta featured here)

These wonderful fruits grow on avocado trees and grown in Mediterranean climates throughout the world.  Thank goodness with our incredible grocery distribution today, we can enjoy these sweet tastes of heaven all year long.  I was born in California (lots of avocados grown there!) and for my early years all through my young adulthood here in Nashville, I was raised eating avocado halves as a snack with Italian dressing poured into the “holes” of the half…a childhood memory that my boys enjoy to this day!  Note:  the best utensil to use is the grapefruit spoon for getting every last bite from the half.

There are many recipes out there for an avocado sauce for pasta…but I really wanted to have a dish that was more complex and could be eaten as a main course.  Believe me, the avocado sauce itself on pasta will “make you give back things your never stole”.  But I was challenged to make an easy, healthy pasta dinner to serve my family when we were in Florida a few weeks ago. OK, OK, this is the same trip where I made the Summer Corn and Tomato Pasta, and also where last year’s popular Shrimp, Avocado, and Spinach Pasta with Mango Vinaigrette was created.  So there is something about being away! AND being creative. 🙂

Like I said, the avocado sauce itself is delicious on pasta alone.  Because of summertime and outdoor fun, I decided to use our Tennis Pasta (can be found at WorldofPastabilities).  My sister is a huge tennis player and I know these ladies are always having “lunch” and needing some cute ideas to bring or “serve” their teammates.

Southwestern flavors seem to always register as a craving and I love the idea of adding all these other great tastes and textures into this avocado pasta: black beans, chicken (pre-grilled), corn, and tomatoes…yum!

This pasta dish is full of tangy sweet flavors and tastes…and will be an “ace” up your sleeve next time you need to entertain.  And if tennis isn’t your game, of course any other short pasta shape will do.  Make sure to serve this with a bottle of hot sauce for those who want a little spice.  Enjoy!