Guacamole

[Jaymes]

Guacamole

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Guacamole

• 1 large avocado, just soft to the touch, not mushy
  
• 1 large, ripe, flavorful tomato, water removed, chopped
  
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (or half a large one)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
  
• 1 T salsa de jalapeno (see below), or to taste
  
• juice of half a lime
  

Salsa de Jalapeño

• 6 whole pickled jalapeños (buy them in cans - Herdez sells them - among other brands - the label should say something like "Jalepeños en Escabeche" or something similar)
  
• 1/2 c tomatoes (I usually just use canned for this)
  
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  

Selecting the avocado: many people much prefer Hass. Obviously that depends entirely on where you live and what varieties are available to you. Just be sure you select a flavorful variety that you like. If they're hard when you buy them, close them up in a paper bag for a day or so.

Slice the avocado in half, lengthwise. Hold the half with the pit in one palm and with the other hand, whack a sharp knife into the pit. You should now be able to easily lift and twist out the pit. Give the knife with the pit stuck to it another whack on the side of the sink, and the pit will drop. No muss no fuss.

Now slice your avocado halves lengthwise once again. This will give you four long wedges. Starting with the narrow end, you will most likely be able to peel them just as though you were peeling a banana. Place the peeled quarters on a dinner plate and with a fork or potato masher, mash the pulp until it is "smoothly chunky." If you have a molcajete, obviously you're using that and you already know all about this and don't need any more directions from me.

For the rest of us, add the remainder of the ingredients onto your mashed avocados and stir to combine well.

Taste for seasonings: salt, "heat," lime, and adjust where needed.

Many people put cilantro in guacamole, but I don't. For me, cilantro has a very strong flavor and I think it overpowers the avocado. Also, I invariably serve my own homemade cooked, red "table salsa" alongside, and it has lots of cilantro in it. People can (and do) add some of that to the guacamole if they want cilantro flavor.

A few more thoughts: Some people add a pinch of sugar; they claim it brings out the flavor of the avocados and smooths the bite of the chiles.

If it's going to be awhile before you serve it, here are some tricks to keep the top from going brown. Remember that it is contact with the air that darkens the avocados, so anything you do to reduce that will reduce the darkening. After the whole thing is ready and in the serving bowl, spread a very thin layer of mayo over the top, and then right before serving, stir it in. Or do the same thing with the lime juice. Don't add it until the end, squeeze it over, rotating the bowl until all the dip is covered with the juice. Stir it in just before serving. But what I usually do is to take some Saran/Glad/Whatever Wrap and place it directly on top of the guacamole, pressing and smoothing until there are no air bubbles. This also works with cut avocado halves. (To me, the "pit" thing is just silly. It's never worked for me and it looks dumb and makes me feel as though if people see it there they'll consider me to be the sort of person that'll believe anything and is probably still looking for Madam Cleo to give me romance tips. So I eschew it.)

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Salsa de Jalapeño

Remove stems from peppers. Put whole peppers, tomatoes and garlic salt into your food processor or blender and process until ingredients are thoroughly blended, but do not pulvarize seeds. It'll make it bitter.

Note: This is not a "salsa" like you're accustomed to - it's more like nothing but ground up pickled jalapenos. It's really hot - much too hot for most folks to use for dips, etc., but it's great for flavoring foods. You won't use anywhere near all of it for the guacamole, so store the rest in a jar, tightly covered, in the fridge. Use it when preparing other foods like roasts, soups, eggs, etc.

And please don't try making my guacamole without it. It only takes a minute and it's just not as good and you'll be upset with me.

Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Mexican, Salad, Snack, Dip

( RG432 )