Guacamole

There are some really off the beaten path topics that get tossed out on an Sunday morning open at the Big Green machine.  Last week Kathryn and I were chilling after getting all our opening tasks done and we were talking cooking as usually ends up happening and had mentioned I was trying to decide what to post to the blog while I would be off so many days in a row. Well we kicked a few ideas around and guacamole came up which led to a story about Julie L. and a MGR’s meeting at our store.  See Julie L. LOVES my guacamole…to the point of not sharing…with anyone.  So we were laughing about how she sat in that meeting with this big bag of chips and the bowl of guacamole I had brought in that day, eating the dip and chips all the while not offering even a smell to the others around the table. The look of gloating on her face was epic.

I think there are as many ways to make guacamole as there are people out there.  This is just my take on it.  It is super simple and quick to toss together.  Only 8 ingredients and about 10 minutes and you will have a bowl of creamy “yumminess” .  Of course all this can go wrong in a big way by a hard unripe avocado – you know what I mean you peel that lovely green orb only to find that to mash it will take an act of congress.  You pound away chasing the bits of avocado around the bowl attacking it with a fork or masher only to have it laugh at your attempts. Well hopefully we can end the era of unripe avocado guacamole.  Here is a sure-fire way to almost guarantee you a perfectly ripe avocado I say almost because there are times you will end up with a rogue, an unripe avocado masquerading as a ripe one.

OK here is what you do to get a prime avocado candidate for guacamole.  Look for an avocado that is hefty, that gives slightly under a small amount of pressure and pop off the stem and look at the color of the flesh under the stem.  If the color is that nice light green avocado color then you are good to go.  If you can not get the avocado to yield under a slight bit of pressure or if it feels hard pass it by, also pass by any avocado that is very soft it is not a good one either as it is beyond ripe. Now once you have your prime candidate you can keep it on the counter for a day or two or you can  store it in the fridge it will stop the ripening process and give you a few more days.  Avocados are a really cool fruit in that it does not start to ripen until it is picked from the tree.  Anyway once you get your green globes home try to used them in as  few days as possible as  they go from just right to over ripe super quick.

One last thing…DO NOT use your knife to remove the pit from the avocado, EVER!  It is VERY easy to aim for the pit and miss lopping off fingers or slicing  into your hand, I don’t care if you see TV chefs doing it all the time it is NOT OK!  Now on to the directions and photos.

Guacamole

3 large Avocados

2 Shallots

1 Lime

2 Jalapeno

1 Ts Garlic paste

1 Ts fresh ground Black Pepper

1/2 Ts Kosher Salt

1 sm Tomato

Cut the avocado in half by cutting into it from pole to pole rolling the avocado as you cut, this will slice it in half with little chance of cutting yourself.  Pop the avocado apart  and using your FINGERS remove the pit like so…

NO whacking with a knife!!

Just run the spoon along between the skin and flesh

This is the least messy way of removing the flesh

If the avocado is ripe the peel should come right off

OK now finely dice the jalapeno, shallots and de-seed and dice the tomato.

If you do not want your guacamole real spicy then remove the white veins and seeds. 

Toss the halves of the avocados into a bowl and mash until you have it as smooth as you would like it.

I like mine a bit lumpy…

Zest the lime and juice half of it adding to the avocados,  add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and give its a stir.Stir it carefully if you want avocado lumps left they break down real easy

Give it a taste and if needed add the juice from the remaining half of lime

OK now you have to decide what to eat your lovely guac on…burgers?  Chips?  Tacos?   Or a dollop on some Chicken Poblano Corn soup!  Me?  Just pass me a spoon…

Now go play with you food.

WikiJan