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.
2 avocados, peeled and cut in half
2 slices of tomato (chopped)
1 Serrano pepper, diced
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste
the thing about having tomatoes in guac is they need to be chopped small enough for them to not overtake the creamy avocados…in the rural parts of mexico where in smaller villages/towns they make guac with avocadoes and salt to taste then spread it on warm bolillo (mexican bread)
Mine is similar to yours, but I often include a tablespoon or so of minced onion and a couple of shakes of chili powder.
I once had an amazing guac that included a bit of mashed banana for creaminess and small chunks of mango. That kind of took it out of the realm of guac, to my mind, but it was a tasty thing nonetheless.
Haas,Bacon or both types of Avocado
Lime
Sea Salt
If the Avocado's are not as good I will use Lawry's Seasoning Salt instead of plain salt. Sometimes I will just cut up an avocado and sprinkle with Lawry's and have at it with a fork. The Lawry's is kind of like "Super Lucas", the Mexican spice mixture with citric acid and chili pepper.
I am growing some Anaheim chilies in my garden this year so some roasted chopped Anaheims might make it in to my Guac.
no mayo in mine but soft cream cheese is really really good!
a different recipe is
Avacados
juice of fresh orange
chipotle pepper chopped
the mix of sweet and hot is a nice change sometimes
simple still rules supreme tho!!!
Exactly what is Spike? I have never heard of it.
Your recipe sounds great for guacamole.