Avocado and pilchards — an unexpected pairing delivers big flavour on a budget

Ray Mahlaka’s avocado and pilchards on rye toast. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

23 May 2025

When the pantry is nearly bare and payday can’t come soon enough, creativity in the kitchen is key. Humble canned pilchards and a stash of ripe avocados are not only a surprisingly delicious match but also a nutritional powerhouse.

Who says you need a full kitchen workout or ingredients to eat well? It is nearly the end of May and fridges and pantries in many households are, at this juncture, almost empty.

I don’t have many ingredients and need a grocery run after payday. So, I had to be creative with this week’s column.

I committed to making avocado-based recipes over the next few weeks. And I had to make good on my promise. Thankfully I still have a strong stash of avocados in my fridge to experiment with recipes. Other ingredients available and worth mentioning were canned pilchards, onions, rye bread and tomato.

At first I thought avocado and pilchards would not pair because they have different and competing flavour profiles. I had to look up recipes that feature this duo, and to my surprise they were plentiful.

This pairing is popular in recipes such as avocado and sardine/pilchard toasts, dips and sandwiches, where the avocado acts as a smooth, fatty buffer that complements the fish’s intensity and oily taste.

I made a lazy meal of pilchards and avocado on toast, which proved that sometimes the easiest recipes win in the kitchen.

I was wrong about my initial suspicion that avocado and pilchards do not pair well. The creamy, rich texture and mild flavour of avocado help balance the strong, salty and oily taste of pilchards or sardines, creating a satisfying combination.

The avocado waiting for its pilchards topping, (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Nutritionally, this duo is a powerhouse, packing heart-healthy fats, fibre and vitamins.

The only cooking required is preparing the fish. Although the pilchards are ready to eat from the packaging (can), I prefer to go the extra mile to make them delicious. I recently wrote about how my mother would heat pilchards, then add an array of spices and vegetables (onions and tomatoes) to zhuzh up the fish into a stew.

Read more: Mom’s magic with pilchards and pap — a taste of home on a budget

For the toast filling I recreated my mother’s pilchard stew recipe. What follows is layering the zhuzhed-up pilchards and smashed avocado on toasted slices of rye bread.

Ray’s avocado and pilchards on rye toast

Ray Mahlaka’s avocado and pilchards on rye toast. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Ingredients

1 tin (400g) pilchards in tomato sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 Tbsp mild curry powder

1 Tbsp turmeric

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp garlic pepper

1 Tbsp crushed garlic

1 vegetable stock cube

½ cup of water

Cooking oil

1 avocado (ripe)

2 slices rye bread (toasted)

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Lemon juice

Method

To make the pilchard stew:

Slice open pilchards to remove tiny bones with a fork. This is optional as some people eat the bones. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic and sauté the onion. Then add chopped tomatoes. Simmer until tomatoes break down.

Crumble in the vegetable stock cube, half a cup of water and spices (mild curry powder, turmeric, oregano and garlic pepper).

Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Add pilchards (with their sauce), breaking them up gently with a spoon. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

To make the pilchards and avocado spread:

Scoop out the avocado and mash it in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Toast the bread slices until golden and crisp.

Spread the mashed avocado generously over each slice of toast. Top with spoonfuls of pilchard stew. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper. DM

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