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| HOLLY'S REAL GUACAMOLE | |
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I have lived in Mexico for 15 years. I know a few things about Mexican food. Go anywhere on the web to find a recipe for guacamole, and you'll find many. Not all of them are genuine guacamole, and the honest ones will tell you so. Some sound even gross, or tasteless. Some variations on guacamole may even be delicious, but they are NOT guacamole. I've seen some that use sun-dried tomatoes, others that call themselves "modified" or something else - that's OK. I'd want to be sure, though, that the basic ingredients are in these "variations." Some variations omit essentials. True guacamole has certain ingredients, with no additions. Nor is one of those ingredients mayonnaise - not EVER! Mayonnaise coats the palate and reduces the flavor; it can be cloying in the mouth in this dish. There is no fat or oil in guacamole except what is in the avocados. Measure up any other guacamole recipe you find against the ingredient list given here. This is the real thing. Guacamole should be extremely strong-flavored (that does NOT mean it has to be chiloso (hot with chiles)), and aromatic. If you can smell it across the room, you did something right! Oh, and NEVER use bottled lemon or lime juice. Uh-uh. You need the aroma from the skin. Save the seeds from the avocados if you might have leftovers. The seeds help retard the turning-black thing. So does some additional lime juice poured over the top. You could flatten some saran or paper over the top, but NEVER use foil - it dissolves into the food. Exposure to air is what blackens avocados. Citrus juice and the seeds retard that. Guacamole should have these ingredients: Onion, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, tomato, some kind of hot pepper, avocados and Tostadas. The substance of the guacamole is the avocados, onions and tomatoes. The aroma comes from the onion, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. I don't like to give quantities, because every one of them is "to taste". So is the size to cut things into. Some people literally puree the avocado, while others want it extremely chunky. All are good. Essentially, this is two recipes. By chopping and mixing together everything but the avocado, what you get is a classic fresh picante sauce. This is entirely fat-free, and is usually served with Tostadas. It's best to make your own - don't try substituting nacho chips or Fritos. Get corn tortillas and fry them in a little very hot oil till they get crisp, then drain. (It goes fast, and the oil can be reused) They are eaten with both picante sauce and guacamole and are really kind of essential. onion garlic lime juice (lemon, if you have no lime, but lime is traditional - they rarely use lemons in Mexico) cilantro tomato some kind of hot pepper (Serrano is probably the original, but it is very hot, and I find it lacks any meaningful flavor. What I adore is the pickled jalapenos, and so do many others in Mexico. These are very flavorful, even at very low levels) avocados Tostadas Chop onion and tomato into a bowl. You can peel your tomatoes or not - it's up to you. Four tomatoes and 1/2 c of onions will usually yield about 2-3 cups. Over these, squeeze the juice of one whole large lime. Mince at least a clove of garlic with 2-4 strips of pickled jalapeno, and add to the bowl. Mince some cilantro and add that, too. Mix thoroughly and add salt to taste. Now you have an excellent picante sauce. To make it into guacamole, you only need to peel and seed some avocados (as many as you want) then chop, mash or puree them into a bowl, then add your picante sauce, to taste, and mix gently but thoroughly. Done. This is a good reason to make a lot of the sauce. That way you can serve some separately from the guacamole, and you can also have some left over to use with other foods. Or just to snack on. The sauce itself has very few calories; the bulk of calories is in the Tostadas. Serve guacamole with some broken Tostadas sticking up in the mixture, and more on the side. Serve picante sauce with Tostadas on the side. Many people prefer to serve the Tostadas very hot. While bottled picante sauce (Pace's is best, I think) are very good, the aromatic qualities can't be bottled. If you MUST use bottled, add fresh garlic, lime juice and cilantro to it. That should help. Sometimes Mexicanos will leave out certain ingredients, mainly because they don't have any on hand, like fresh cilantro. It wilts fast, and is hard to keep. If you really adore cilantro (it has a multitude of applications) consider growing some from coriander seeds in the kitchen window. If you have to substitute vinegar for lime or lemon juice, your end result will be MUCH lower than optimum. I've even known some people to omit the garlic, but that was done because one of their sons didn't like garlic, so we all added it only to our own portions. Don't leave out hot peppers unless you have no choice. If someone is very sensitive, don't add any peppers, but DO pour in a Tb or two of the juice - the FLAVOR of the peppers is important in picante sauce and guacamole. You really MUST have at least some. But a bit of the juice won't burn anyone. As for the chiloso, always add less hot chiles than you think you'll need; you can add more after the dish is finished, if you think more would be good - always keep in mind WHO will be eating it, and their tolerance for chiloso. Two lengthwise slices in a can of sliced pickled jalapenos is rather mild for the 4-tomato quantity given here. Four might start to stress some peoples' thresholds. If you have both low and high-tolerance people, offer some chopped jalapenos on the side, and make the chiloso of the mixture very mild. Also, please note that you will almost always wish you'd made more, of either guacamole or picante sauce. I've been known to polish off a 4-tomato amount of the sauce, all by myself, in a single day! The sauce gets even better by the next day. It can be used over fish, included in many beef or pork dishes, and is delicious in many kinds of sandwiches. With a selection of cheeses and cold-cuts, it is outstanding. Mixed into almost ANY melted cheese, it's a queso picante dip. You'll probably figure out some uses of your own. If anything can truly be called "food of the gods", it would be guacamole! Submitted by: Holly B. | |
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