guacamole

It seems to me that almost every conversation about guacamole has at least one or two people claim that they make the best guacamole ever.  I mean, the thing about guacamole is that it is always pretty darn delicious.  But, not to toot my own horn or anything, I’ve had several people try my guacamole and proclaim that even though they thought they made a pretty mean guacamole, mine was even better than theirs.  Ok, I know, I am tooting my own horn.

I think the thing that makes my guacamole so good is that I try it out as I go along and add more of things as I see fit. I had never, ever measured quantities until last night when I made this.  But the thing is that avocados seem to have this neutralizing power.  You can put a whole lot of jalapeño in there and barely get any spice.  So I will often try the guacamole and decide that it needs more garlic, more cilantro, more jalapeño, and more salt.  It always needs more salt than I think it will and the heat level of peppers can really vary.  So I add more stuff in and then try it again.  I know, it’s lot to ask to keep trying the guacamole.  But it’s in your best interest in the long run, so soldier up and grab a chip (or two, or three, or four, or…).

The awesome thing about guacamole is that it’s so good on so many things and it’s pretty healthy (avocados are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and have more potassium than bananas).  It’s always a crowd pleaser served with chips, but it’s also so good on sandwiches and burgers (we love it on our turkey burger), and we’ve also really taken to slathering it on top of our barbecue chicken pizza.

What makes your guacamole the best?  And what do you like to put it on?

Make sure that you are using ripe avocados.  The skins should be all black and soft (but not to the point where you leave a half inch dent) when you squeeze them gently.  If they’re not ripe enough, the flavor won’t be as good and they’l be harder to mix in.

The tomatoes should be deseeded first so your texture’s not thrown off.  To deseed them, cut the plum tomato in half and just squeeze out the seeds and the goopy stuff over a sink or trash can.

2 ripe avocados
2 plum tomatos, deseeded and chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1-2 jalapeños, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
2/3 cup cilantro
kosher salt, to taste (usually 3/4 to 1 teaspoon)
pepper, to taste (usually about 1/4 teaspoon)

Scoop the avocados out of their skins and into a bowl.  Add all of your other ingredients and mix together, being careful not to over-mix because you want to maintain a few avocado chunks.  Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs, and repeat.