The Infamous El Guaco
I have received multiple requests over the last 6 months or so for my guacamole recipe. I decided to just put it up here for those of you who haven't yet had the chance to revel in its glory. It's so good that even if you don't like guacamole, or don't like avocados, you will like this.
YOU WILL NEED:
Avocado
Lemon juice (or lime) from 1/2 lemon
Fresh garlic, 2 cloves
Minced onion (fresh or jarred), 3 green onions, 1 shallot, or 2 leeks...you get the idea, about 1 TBSP of the bottled kind in the spice aisle works just great.
Tomato (A variety called Campari is best; I use 2-3)
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro (optional)
You will notice there is no mention of jalapenos or chiles of any kind. That's because when I eat guacamole, I want to eat guacamole, not chilemole. I actually like the flavor of the avocado with onions and garlic, and I think chiles take away from that. Also, lack of chile is probably why avocado-haters will actually eat this. And come back for more!
First, make sure your avocados give slightly to gentle pressure. Too hard, and they will be crunchy. Too soft, and they will be mushy, brown and tasteless. And sometimes stringy to boot. Cut each avocado in half lengthwise, scoop out the seed with a spoon. Score lines from top to bottom and then side to side in the avocado, then scoop the flesh out with the spoon. This will leave you will a bowl full of nice cubes.
Add the citrus juice (or acidic liquid of your choice) as soon as possible to prevent browning. I like to add mine as soon as I put the first avocado in, but you can add it at the end if you like to do things in an orderly fashion.
Once your lemon juice is in, now is a good time to add the minced onion, especially if it's the dried kind. It will soak up the lemon juice and reconstitute into normal-looking pieces of onion as it sits there.
Press or mince 2 cloves of garlic and add those too. If you are a crazy garlic lover, and like a little more bite to your guac, go ahead and throw in a 3rd clove.
Get ready to season with salt and pepper. By the way, if you're out of some sort of citrus juice, I have found that white wine vinegar and even regular white vinegar will also work just fine. The main thing is that you need something to keep the avocado from turning brown as quickly.
Grab your tomatoes (whatever variety you have on hand is fine, but those little Campari ones can't be beat), chop them up and add those to the bowl.
Using a fork, mix/mash the whole thing until it's the consistency you like. Chunky, smooth, whatever floats your boat.
Beautiful, ain't it? It's great on tortilla chips, tacos, in burros, on cucumbers, carrots, and just about anything else you can think of.
ENJOY!
To learn more about the health benefits of avocados, click on the link HERE.
Keep in mind this isn't an exact science - I never measure and so I'm just guessing on the amounts. Everything should be done to your personal taste. I've also included substitutions so that even without a ton of fresh ingredients (minus the avocados, of course) you can still make a delicious batch. For the purposes of this recipe, I'm going to assume you want a modest, but still plentiful, batch so the amounts work best with about 3 avocados.
Avocado
Lemon juice (or lime) from 1/2 lemon
Fresh garlic, 2 cloves
Minced onion (fresh or jarred), 3 green onions, 1 shallot, or 2 leeks...you get the idea, about 1 TBSP of the bottled kind in the spice aisle works just great.
Tomato (A variety called Campari is best; I use 2-3)
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro (optional)
You will notice there is no mention of jalapenos or chiles of any kind. That's because when I eat guacamole, I want to eat guacamole, not chilemole. I actually like the flavor of the avocado with onions and garlic, and I think chiles take away from that. Also, lack of chile is probably why avocado-haters will actually eat this. And come back for more!
First, make sure your avocados give slightly to gentle pressure. Too hard, and they will be crunchy. Too soft, and they will be mushy, brown and tasteless. And sometimes stringy to boot. Cut each avocado in half lengthwise, scoop out the seed with a spoon. Score lines from top to bottom and then side to side in the avocado, then scoop the flesh out with the spoon. This will leave you will a bowl full of nice cubes.
Add the citrus juice (or acidic liquid of your choice) as soon as possible to prevent browning. I like to add mine as soon as I put the first avocado in, but you can add it at the end if you like to do things in an orderly fashion.
Once your lemon juice is in, now is a good time to add the minced onion, especially if it's the dried kind. It will soak up the lemon juice and reconstitute into normal-looking pieces of onion as it sits there.
Press or mince 2 cloves of garlic and add those too. If you are a crazy garlic lover, and like a little more bite to your guac, go ahead and throw in a 3rd clove.
Grab your tomatoes (whatever variety you have on hand is fine, but those little Campari ones can't be beat), chop them up and add those to the bowl.
ENJOY!
To learn more about the health benefits of avocados, click on the link HERE.
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