Palta Rellena

Chickpea salad stuffed avocado.

The savory, cool, crisp, and creamy palta rellena—or stuffed avocado—that Mom taught me to make decades ago always reminds me of the beginning of spring.

Palta Rellena

Chickpea salad stuffed avocado.

Indigenous foodways brought the avocado from Mexico to South America centuries ago. In Peru, we call avocado “palta,” after a tribe in the northern part of the Inca empire that cultivated the fruit. I remember my mom making palta rellena with chicken or tuna salad for lunch, as an appetizer for dinner, or for a family potluck. Her small, creole kitchen was home to her seemingly effortless culinary magic that she practiced for more than 80 years. Holding a small, sharp pairing knife on one hand and a palta on the other, she would swiftly and elegantly slice the avocado in half, remove its pit, plate it, and scoop a filling of the chilled salad in the bright green cavity. Here, using mashed canned chickpeas for the stuffing makes the dish plant based and provides protein. Chopped parsley works as a substitute for the dill’s aromatics, and a squeeze of lime juice brightens the dish. This savory, cool, crisp, and creamy palta rellena that Mom taught me to make decades ago always reminds me of the beginning of spring.

Serves 6

• One 15-ounce can unsalted chickpeas

• 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

• 1/4 cup finely diced celery

• 2 tablespoons chopped dill, plus more for garnish

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

• 3 medium to large size ripe avocados, such as Hass

• 1 lime, sliced in half

Strain the chickpeas into a bowl. Use a fork to roughly mash the chickpeas. Add the mayonnaise, onion, celery, dill, and salt. Mix well to form the creamy filling. Adjust salt as needed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, covered.

Slice avocados in half lengthwise, and remove their pits. Place avocados flesh side up and sprinkle with a dash of salt.

Fill each cavity with 1 tablespoon of the chilled chickpea mixture. Serve face up and garnish with dill. Squeeze a few drops of fresh lime juice over each avocado.