Féroce d'Avocat

Easy·25 min active + 15 min resting

Martinique's 'fierce' avocado — ripe avocado mashed with shredded salt cod, cassava flour, lime, garlic, and a fierce hit of scotch bonnet into a thick, spicy spread eaten in balls or on bread.

Féroce d'avocat — 'fierce avocado', for its chili kick — is a Martinican starter mashing avocado with salt cod and cassava flour (farine de manioc) into a firm, piquant paste. It is Creole food at its most resourceful.

Scoop up féroce d'avocat and it is thick, creamy, and fierce — rich avocado mashed with smoky-salty flakes of cod, the cassava flour giving body, lime sharpening it, and the scotch bonnet living up to the 'fierce' name. Bite: buttery and cooling from the avocado, then a building chili heat, the cod savory throughout. A bold, addictive Martinican starter on bread.

Cassava flour absorbs moisture and binds the avocado-and-cod mash into a firm, scoopable paste that won't oxidize as fast; lime both brightens and slows browning. The scotch bonnet is added raw and generous — the chili heat is the point of 'féroce'.

Variations

With smoked herring instead of cod. Milder. With more cassava flour (firmer). With herbs. Spread on bread (féroce sandwich). With a little oil for smoothness.

On the Palate

Where Féroce d'Avocat sits in the Martinican flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

How it's made

8 steps · 25 min active + 15 min waiting

1
12 min
Soak 200 g salt cod overnight; boil briefly, flake, and remove bones.
2
4 min
Grill or pan-char the flaked cod lightly for a smoky note.
Watch out
Char the cod just at the edges for smoke — a light scorch, not a dry-out; you want the smoky note, not tough leather.
3
5 min
Mash 3 ripe avocados with lime juice and crushed garlic.
4
3 min
Mix in the flaked cod and finely chopped scotch bonnet (to taste).
Watch out
Go in bold with the scotch bonnet — 'féroce' means fierce; start generous but taste, the heat should bite.
5
4 min
Work in cassava flour (farine de manioc) a little at a time to a thick, firm paste.
Watch out
Add the cassava flour a spoon at a time until it stiffens into a paste you can scoop and it holds its shape — stop before it turns dry and pasty.
6
2 min
Season with salt and a little oil.
7
3 min
Shape into quenelles or balls, or mound in a bowl.
8
1 min
Serve with bread, crackers, or as part of a Creole platter.