Avocado leaves

I just returned from vacation in Oaxaca where I had a fabulous lamb barbacoa. I want to make the home-cook friendly version from Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie but I don't know where to find avocado leaves. A search of this site turned up references to a Maxwell St vendor making - you guessed it, barbacoa.

Any thoughts on where I might find them?

Thanks
Wendy

wendy wrote:I just returned from vacation in Oaxaca where I had a fabulous lamb barbacoa. I want to make the home-cook friendly version from Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie but I don't know where to find avocado leaves. A search of this site turned up references to a Maxwell St vendor making - you guessed it, barbacoa.

Any thoughts on where I might find them?

Thanks
Wendy

Not to be too facile or flip, but why not visit Maxwell Street Market and ask the vendor where he got his leaves (which probably are not avocado, but which would still be very workable and perhaps more "authentic"?)

If you don't mind waiting a couple weeks for your barbacoa, these have got to be the easiest leaves in the world to grow - for all the avocadoes we sprouted as a kid, we never realized we were creating something edible (they never fruited, but became nice leafy houseplants eventually.)

You're looking for dried leaves not fresh, correct? Have you tried the spice aisles of large Mexican supermarkets? Not long ago I spent some time looking at the dried herbs at Armando's (2638 S Kedzie). I don't think the selection at this supermarket is anything terribly out of the ordinary but I was surprised at how many obscure (to me) items were available. They have wormwood, oak bark, gentian, mullion bark etc. I'm certain they have guava and orange leaves but don't specifically recall avocado. I think they were there though.

Rene G wrote:You're looking for dried leaves not fresh, correct? Have you tried the spice aisles of large Mexican supermarkets? Not long ago I spent some time looking at the dried herbs at Armando's (2638 S Kedzie). I don't think the selection at this supermarket is anything terribly out of the ordinary but I was surprised at how many obscure (to me) items were available. They have wormwood, oak bark, gentian, mullion bark etc. I'm certain they have guava and orange leaves but don't specifically recall avocado. I think they were there though.

Correct - I am looking for dried avocado leaves. Thanks for the recommendations.

Dried avocado leaves should be in the spice section of just about any Mexican market in Chicago. They are not among the more obscure items to be found.

Hi

I'm not sure of your location...but I know that avocado leaves are found in most Mexican grocery stores in Joliet. If you can't find any I could verify if they still carry it.

dan