Guacamole, my way
I’m often asked why I don’t have a guacamole recipe on my site. I reckon the simplest answer is because I don’t have a recipe for guacamole. Instead, I just add some ingredients to a smashed-up avocado and call it a dip.
When my mom was in the liturgical nacho stage of her life (so-called because she made her daily lunch of nachos always the exact same way) she’d whip up a batch of guacamole to go with them. She totally cheated, however, as she mashed an avocado with bottled hot sauce.
My mom can do many things very, very well, but I have to admit that this guacamole was not the best I’d eaten in my life. (And, for the record, she insists that she no longer makes guacamole this way.)
Guacamole is all about freshness and using a bottled hot sauce is anathema to this underlying principle. While you want the avocado to be the star, the other ingredients need to be heard as well, and nothing is louder than the crunch of fresh chiles, the tang of lime juice and the bite of fresh garlic.
There’s also the problem of bottled salsa having tomatoes as a base. I’m a firm believer that tomatoes shouldn’t be in guacamole; the texture is just wrong. Tomatoes are too juicy and soft and I want my accents to the avocado to be firm. I realize most people would disagree with me, but that’s OK as that’s probably the best thing about guacamole—everyone makes guacamole the way that they like it.
Take my uncle, for instance. He stirs in a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise into his guacamole, which he swears makes it super creamy. Then there’s a friend who’s been known to add sesame seeds to her guacamole, which is a subtle yet surprising accent. Obviously, the ways to make guacamole are infinite.
So, I’m happy to share with you how I make my guacamole, but what I really want to know is how you make your guacamole.
Guacamole
Ingredients
- 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut in half
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Serrano chile, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Mash the avocado with a fork in a bowl or Mexican mortar and pestle (molcajete) until desired consistency. Stir in the garlic, Serrano, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, then taste and add more salt if desired. Serve immediately.
I made this last night without the serrano pepper and it was amazing!
I was about to say I like guacamole pretty much any way it's made, until I read the part about mayo. Yikes.
One thing I don't love is too much citrus, it reminds me of packaged guac and I think it can be a tell-tale sign that the guac is kinda old and needing to be preserved with something.
I don't mind tomatoes in my guac as long as they're firm and crunchy and diced pretty small. Actually I don't even mind salsa in it as long as it's not corn salsa or something, though I agree it doesn't taste as fresh. If the avocados aren't great though, sometimes it's necessary.
2 Hass avocados mashed
lemon juice (I prefer it to lime)
one large clove garlic, pressed (or 2 small/med ones)
1/2 tomato diced
1/4 yellow onion diced
garlic salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
I don't like cilantro or cumin in it. I used to make it that way and then realized I shouldn't put things in it that I don't like just because some recipe said to DUH 😉 I also love it with fresh chopped peppers but I rarely have them so I don't "normally" get to put them in
The way I make my guacamole is a combination of guac and pico. I call it PicoGuaco! I don't have any measurements for the ingredients; I just go by taste and how many will be eating it. I use: avocados, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper. Plain and simple but tastes so good. Just give me a bowl with some tostadas (torilla chips) and a beer and I'm good!
I like it as FRESH and CHUNKY!
2 Hass avocadoes-
1/2 red onion -small dice
2 garlic cloves- minced
a few cherry tomatoes
cilantro – about 2 tbs. chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 juice of a lime
jalapeno pepper if you like some heat
Put diced onion, garlic, cilantro, salt and lime juice in a bowl and mix.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half and remove seeds and juice. Dice it up and add to bowl.
Cut each avocado in half, dice in skin, spoon out, reserve the pits.
(Pits not only help break down the avocado but it also helps it from turning brown while it sits out)
Mix it all together and you have a bowl of deliciousness!