Guacamole
The healthy party dip.
Guacamole is a well known party dip or condiment with many applications. Eat it straight up with chips, put it on fajitas, tacos, quesadillas, toast, burgers, nachos, etc. Here’s something to try, take some scoops of guacamole and place in queso (its an Austin thing). Sounds strange, looks wrong, but it is sooooo good.
Like everything having to do with food, what makes a good guacamole is based on personal taste. So start with what I have below and experiment.
Ingredients
- 4-5 Large Avocados
- 2-4 Roma Tomatoes
- 1 Large Red Onion
- 1 Lime
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Head of Garlic
- 1 Cilantro Bunch
- Salt
- Ground Cumin
- 1-2 Jalapeños (More if you like it spicy or try serranoes or habaneros)
- Tortilla Chips (for tasting)
There is no cooking for guacamole, so everything is in the prep. I only make this on a weekend. At the bottom I will have my week night Quick Guac.
Directions
Do all the prep before assembly of guacamole. I add everything in parts and taste as I mix so it makes it hard to pre-determine the amount needed. Any leftover prepped ingredient will be save and used in something else. Remember it is easy to add more, but impossible to take it back out.
Prep the Avocados last. when exposed to air, the avocado will slowly start to turn brown, similar to an apple. The acid in the lime and lemon will help prevent this. Avocados get prepped last.
Red Onions
For this amount of guacamole, I want one medium-large onion. I kind of hate saying it like that, because sizes vary based on season and availability. I am looking for 3/4 to 1 pound of onion unpeeled. The onion needs to be finely diced and put to the side in a small bowl. It is hard to know how much you will need as the amount of avocado you get will vary and the strength of the onion will vary. I like the smaller dice because it will allow for a more even distribution of the onion without getting large bites of raw onion.
Tomatoes
As with the onions, the amount of tomato you are going to need will vary based on sizes and quantity. Also, I prefer Roma’s for this, because you need to remove the watery seeds and use mainly the outer layer of the tomato. I like to use a larger dice on the tomatoes since I like the pop of juice when I bite in and allows for a chunkier guacamole texture.
They also provide a nice color contrast.
Jalapeños
This time, I used a red and a green jalapeño. I enjoy the taste of jalapeño, but not as much heat, so the first step is to clean them well. Remove the seeds and the white ribbing in the peppers as this is where the heat (capsaicin) is located. If you like it spicier, I would recommend adding additional peppers or using spicier peppers, while still removing the seeds and the ribbing.
Next is to use a fine dice. This will allow for a more even distribution of the peppers while preventing a large bite of hot pepper.
Garlic
No one is my house has ever said there is too much garlic in anything. We love garlic. The garlic needs to be minced. If you do not want to go through that hassle, use the jarred minced garlic. I add everything in parts and taste as I mix so it makes it hard to pre-determine the amount needed.
Cilantro
Now some people love cilantro, some like it, some hate it, and a small portion of the population think it tastes like soap. J and I love it, Husband and T like it. So i have to balance the use, but I still get to use it.
One of the cool things about cilantro you can use it all, leaves and stems. I only use the stems in a blended/pureed or cooked application such as salsa or chimichurri. For this application I remove the leaves and do a rough chop.
Avocados
The skin and flesh of the avocado is easy to cut through, I use a heavy bladed chef’s knife for removing the pit/seed. The avocados most commonly found in my area in the stores are the Haas variety. They have rough skin and light green flesh around the edges. Use everything, but the skin and the pit. In some of the other varieties the pit can be easily removed with a spoon, but the flesh will be more yellow. It will still taste good though.
Slice the avocado length wise to the pit and then rotate the avocado all the way around keeping in contact with the pit. Then twist the two side apart. I then use the handle end of the blade and flick it into the pit. Twist and the seed will pop out. Pinch the seed off of the knife.
I will then do a rough slice of the avocado before removing it from the skin. It will come out easily with a fork or a spoon. You may see some brown areas that are from bruising. remove the brown spots where possible. Repeat with all the avocados.
Assembly Time
Though the avocados in a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lime all over and take a couple pinches of salt and a tsp of cumin. Next add about half of the tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, and cilantro. Start mixing with a fork.
The amounts you put in initially are just a starting point. If you are nervous about an ingredient start with less.
Try to get it consistent and then dip a chip and taste. If you are using salty chips, then you will not need a lot of salt. If you are using low salt or non salted chips, you will need to add more salt. I would add the salt and Cumin just a little at a time. If you want to play, try some smoked salt.
Add additional amount of the various ingredients until you get the taste you are looking for. I had extra at the end. Do not worry about waste. you can add left overs to taco meat, nachos, pasta sauce, mini frittatas, etc.
If you need additional citrus after the 1st lime, start with 1/2 lemon (be careful about the seeds)
Storage
It is hard to store the guacamole, so it is not a make ahead. You can prep all the ingredient except the avocados ahead. If you have left overs it needs to be stored in a tightly sealed container with no air pockets, as small as it will fit it. Preferable narrow, tall and narrow. Over the top with plastic wrap, again no air. The plastic wrap needs to be in contact with the guacamole. Then the container’s lid. Store in the fridge. Even doing this you will have a thin layer of brown guacamole on the top. Scape it off and enjoy.
Quick Guac
Ingediants
- Avocados
- Limes
- Salt
- Cumin
Prep the avocados as above, combine to taste.
Same storage.