Guacamole – A Good Green

My mom LOVES guacamole but I’ve never been a big fan…that is until my honeymoon in the Riviera Maya of Mexico. While at dinner we were privy to watching fresh Mexican guacamole made right at our table. It wasn’t until I saw it deconstructed that I truly appreciated the art of the guac. Once we came home, I tried my hand at making this green goodness. It took many tries and some disastrous failures to come up with my favorite recipe.

Traditionally guacamole is made with avocados, white onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and hot peppers mashed together in a Mexican molcajete (lava stone mortar and pestle). Being mortar-less and pestle poor, I typically use a fork and stainless steel or ceramic bowl as the mixing vessel. During my journey, I also found that red onions give a more palatable flavor, tomatoes are great for texture, lime juice helps with consistency and salt is a MUST.  Without salt, all you have is fancy avocado pico and while I like avocado, it is NOT guacamole. Just trust me.

No matter what your preference, fresh ingredients are the keys to a successful guacamole. Fresh cilantro and ripe avocados are most important but the more fresh ingredients the better.  My husband thinks guacamole tastes best after several hours (1-3) of sitting. He likes how the flavors meld. I think I forgot the salt…Personally I like it straight from the bowl!

Homemade Guacamole

3 large avocados or 4 medium avocados

½ of a medium red onion, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 Serrano pepper, finely chopped (optional)

Juice of 1 lime

½ bushel of cilantro, chopped

Pinch of Sea Salt (8 – ¼ turns of a sea salt grinder)

1. In a medium size stainless steel bowl, combine onion, tomato, peppers and cilantro together. Mix well.
2. Spoon avocados into the bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado folding in the onion mixture.
3. Once well mixed, add the sea salt and the juice from one lime. Continue mixing with the fork until completely incorporated.
4. Enjoy with tortilla chips, tortillas or straight from the spoon!

Tagged: avacado, cilantro, jalapeno, Limes, Mexican, onion, tomato