Sunday, January 22, 2012

Guacamole


This post is dedicated to my friend Maya. A very long time ago she gave me my one and only cookbook where this recipe came from and for the longest time this is the only thing I knew how to make in addition to Salat Olivye. This recipe came out so good that for a while based on this dish alone I was under the misconception that I could potentially be a great chef had I happen to know more then two recipes.

To make this guacamole you will need 4 avocados, 1 medium sized lime, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, tomato, some green onion and cilantro. I usually use 2-3 pieces of green onion and a fist full of cilantro but you can use as much as you like or as little as you like. The avocados have to be soft but not too soft. Here's a how to tell if your avocado is soft enough. The original recipe calls for jalapeno chiles seeded and minced but I never put them in. I am originally not from the U.S. and had no exposure to spicy foods growing up. As a result I have a very hard time using ingredients that set your mouth on fire.

Begin by cutting the tip of the avocado to remove the stem end and then cut the avocado in half while leaving the pit intact.

Take a large knife and hit the pit in the center far enough so the knife is stuck. Twist the knife to remove the pit from the avocado and then remove the pit from the knife. Be careful with the knife when doing this step so that you do not accidentally slice your hand while removing a particularly stubborn pit. Repeat  for the remaining 3 avocados. You can also remove the pits by using a spoon or even your hand but then some of the avocado flesh remains on the pit and it's not easy to scrape it off. Besides you look way cooler doing the knife method especially if you have an audience.

 Using a spoon or your hands remove the green flesh from the inside into a bowl.
Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the juice. I like to do it through a strainer but then sometimes I don't so whatever you feel like doing. Take a potato masher and mash the lime juice with the avocado.  I am very fond of my potato masher but feel free to use a fork if you do not own one. You can mash the avocado fine or leave chunks depending on how you like your finished product to look like.
Add 1  1/2 teaspoons of salt and mix everything together. Salt pretty much makes or breaks this dish so be precise.

Chop the green onion, tomato and cilantro. I try to chop everything very fine. If you want to be a little extreme you can put the chopped tomatoes on a paper towel so it will absorb the juice. This prevents the guacamole from having a  puddle of water at the bottom of the container after it spends a day in the refrigerator. However every time I do this I feel like this borders on the absurd. After you are done (!) blotting the tomatoes with the paper towel add the chopped ingredients to the avocado and  mix everything together.


Find a nice bowl to put the guacamole in. Preferably something that would compliment the green in the guacamole. You are done.

 Bon Appetit!

The End

Saturday, January 14, 2012