Guacamole: The Short and Sweet of It

What is the most appropriate dish to bring to any sort of gathering? Guacamole. What is great way to take out your adult aggression? Mashing up some guacamole. What reminds me of childhood summer birthdays? Strawberry shortcake, pool parties, rose bushes, oh and yes a huge bowl of guacamole. You see where I’m headed. It’s simple, it’s pure, it’s delicious. Add some salty tortilla chips and it’s heaven.

There’s really not much else to say except,

here avocado…
ready to be mashed into
some guacamole?

Guacamole                                                                                                                                                                         PRINT RECIPE
[Prep: 15 minutes / TOTAL: 15 minutes]
[makes about 1 ½ - 2 cups depending on the size of the avocados]

• 4 ripe avocados, peeled and cubed
• 10-15 cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and quartered
• 1/4 of a medium red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 jalapeño, washed, mostly seeded and diced or 1 tablespoon of pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice or about ½ a lime
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or about 5 grinds
• 1 bag of your favorite tortilla chips

For this recipe I am not using cilantro – if you think guac isn’t complete without any, throw it in! Personally I don’t think making guacamole is a hard science, everyone has his or her own version. The ingredients above and their measurements can be adapted. I think of it as a place to start. Depending on the ripeness of avocados or the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes you may need to add a dash more salt or more lime juice, but I wait to do this until the end so the guacamole doesn’t get over seasoned and the yummy flavor of the avocados still shine through.

To start cut the avocados in half lengthwise and twist the two halves apart. Take the side with the pit still attached and spoon it out. If you are feeling adventurous you could use a sharp knife and with a quick tap to the pit use the blade to spear it [with the length of the blade not the tip] and pop it out. Score the avocado flesh with the knife – be careful not to slice through the skin and cut your hand – then scoop it out with a spoon into a medium sized mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining avocados and save a pit that we’ll use later.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and chop the onion, they should be roughly the same size, and add them to the mixing bowl. Peel and press the two cloves of garlic over the mixing bowl, add the salt, pepper and fresh lime juice. Now onto the jalapenos. I actually prefer to use the pickled jalapenos for their flavor and you won’t end up crying when you accidentally rub your eye after handling the fresh cut jalapeño’s seeds. But again either will work, I happened to have a fresh one on hand so that’s what I used. If you are using the pickled version take out about 1 tablespoon, finely chop it and add to the bowl. If you are using a the fresh version cut it lengthwise and remove about half of the seeds – though if you like things really spicy leave them all in – and finely chop the pepper and add to the rest of the ingredients.

All that’s left to do is mash it all together – the riper the avocado the easier this will be. It’s really up to you how  smooth you want the guacamole to be.

And now we taste. You can adjust the flavors with a pinch of salt or even a dash of your favorite hot sauce if it needs more of a kick. When you are ready to serve it, transfer it to a smaller bowl and place the saved avocado pit in the middle on top of the guacamole. This will help prevent the dip from turning brown – or at least I’m told.

And now we eat!