Guacamole

Guacamole is something I didn't know existed until my early 20s.  Sad, I know.  Well, maybe I had heard of it by then, but I had never tried it.  Anyway, I now know and love it.  Most of you probably already have your own favorite way to whip up this delicious dip but for those of you who have not ventured to try it, here's a little tutorial.

The academics tell me that the original guacamole was no more than avocados and salt.  I prefer a few more ingredients (and I think these are pretty common ones in your everyday North American guac).

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados, mashed
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
juice of 1 lime
handful of fresh cilantro
a few good dashes of Sriracha sauce
salt, to taste

When I first started making my own guacamole, someone showed me how to prepare the avocado:

1.  Remove knobbly stem thing (upper right corner)

2.  Slice lengthwise with a sharp knife, circling around the hard pit in the centre.  It's hard to capture this one on camera.  Basically, hold avocado in one hand, make a lengthwise cut until your knife hits the pit, then rotate avocado until you've made a lengthwise cut through the entire flesh.

3.  Keeping knife inserted as in Step 2, rotate slightly until avocado separates into two halves.

4.  To easily remove pit, hold avocado carefully in one hand and with the other, carefully tap the long side of the knife so it sticks in the pit.  Gently rotate the knife handle in the plane of the avocado's surface and the pit will twist right out (if it is ripe!).  Tapping the pit with a spoon on the knifed-side will release it from the knife.  It's a slippery little thing, always gets away on me.

5.  Spoon out flesh from each half, discarding any bruised areas.  Be sure to scrape out all the outer layer of dark green flesh - I think it makes for a more attractive dip!

[Tip for avoiding bruised flesh:  purchase firm avocados before they are ripe and let them sit on the counter until they are ready.  Let their softness tell you when they're ready to eat!  Buying soft avocados has backfired on me more than once.]

So now onto the guacamole-making!

Scoop avocado into a large bowl.  Sorry this picture is a little weird, I think my camera did something automatic.

Add the juice of one lime.  Like apples, avocado flesh tends to turn brown when exposed to oxygen.  Unlike apple slices, mashed avocado cannot be dipped in 7-up to prevent this.  So you need a healthy dose of the acids in lime juice to keep your guac green.  The acid isn't the only reason for the lime - it adds great flavour as well.

Mash it up.

Seed your tomatoes and dice up the firm outer part into small cubes.  Mix into avocado.

Here is where you can add the handful of cilantro (or more if you are a cilantro lover!).  No pictures - ours was several days old and still tasty but no longer photogenic.

Add in your desired amount of Sriracha and salt.  Mix well.

If you have willpower, let chill for a few hours in a covered container.  When you're ready to eat it (I'm not going to judge if you didn't let it chill), serve in an attractive bowl with nacho chips for dipping.  Alternatively (my plan) - taco night!

Another Mexican-inspired appetizer for you here.