{"id":1506,"date":"2015-03-06T19:45:19","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T19:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2015-03-06T19:57:30","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T19:57:30","slug":"guacamole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1506","title":{"rendered":"Guacamole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The great thing about Guacamole is there is no one recipe for it, which means you can’t be wrong. \u00a0Aztecs were eating this in the sixteenth century and it seems like the only thing you absolutely have to have is avocado and salt.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0325\"<\/a> I like mine ‘chunky’, which is definitely a reaction against the commercially produced gloopy stuff. \u00a0Given a choice, I also prefer mine on top of a bowl of chilli con carne \u2026 but here I’m serving it up as a snack. \u00a0I’ve no idea what big sporting something is on TV at the moment, but my boys are watching it. \u00a0I really wish I liked sport. \u00a0I see other people enjoying themselves, but I just don’t get it. \u00a0I grew up with a mum who loved watching it. \u00a0Any televised athletics meet and all of Wimbledon meant we didn’t get fed as my mum had to sit inches from the screen exhibiting a noisy enthusiasm which mystified me. \u00a0But, and this is a big but, I really don’t mind other people doing their thing. \u00a0I simply hit the kitchen, shut the door on it all, and provide snacks. \u00a0I’m a committed ‘feeder’.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0300<\/a>The only knack to making great guacamole is getting a ripe avocado. \u00a0They’re like pears in that they don’t ripen on the tree. \u00a0You harvest them unripe and have to wait. \u00a0A brown bag and a banana (apparently there is a reason for that but \u00a0I’d have to google to tell you and you might as well do that yourself) will speed the process up if you are in a hurry. \u00a0Otherwise, buy your avocado and store at room temperature. Colour can be misleading. \u00a0It’s the squeeze. \u00a0Probably the best way to learn is to buy unripe avocado and give a daily squeeze. \u00a0A ripe avocado will give to gentle pressure. \u00a0Once your avocado is ripe you can slow the process down by popping them in the fridge. \u00a0If the surface is pitted it would suggest the fruit is bruised and\/or overripe – so not what you want. \u00a0Hass is generally considered the best but, honestly, I buy what there is.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0309<\/a> Give the avocados a rinse under cold running water. \u00a0Then slice in half and scoop. \u00a0Or quarters and peel. \u00a0I tend to start at the narrow end and slide the knife around the stone. \u00a0I don’t understand the ‘knife’ trick to remove the stone because a ripe fruit will yield its stone easily. \u00a0I just slot a spoon underneath. \u00a0(The exception to that is if you’re intending to use just the one half of the fruit. \u00a0In that case, leave the stone in place and wrap tightly in cling film. \u00a0Air is the enemy and an empty ‘stone-hole’ won’t help.)<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0312<\/a>Since I’m making Guacamole and am going to squish it I use a knife to cut a hashtag formation across the flesh before scooping it all out into a bowl.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0313<\/a> The traditional method of making guacamole, I gather, is to use a molcajete. \u00a0I don’t have one. \u00a0For the curious, a molcajete is a three-legged round bowl carved out of basalt. \u00a0The pestle is made of the same lava rock and is called a tejolote. \u00a0I have got a pestle and mortar, which might be a reasonable substitute but I tend to make Guacamole in industrial quantities so it’s not big enough. \u00a0My avocado chunks go in a big bowl.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0302<\/a> Of all the optional added extras, I like to add a little onion. \u00a0I choose what’s labelled in the UK ‘Continental Salad Onions’. \u00a0They look like a fat spring onion. \u00a0Liddy, my daughter, really likes to add tomato and I’m neutral to negative. \u00a0Out of season tomatoes taste of nothing. \u00a0Chilli – yes. \u00a0Lots. \u00a0I tend to go for Jalape\u00f1o Chillies because they are easy to find. \u00a0The only way to gauge the ‘heat’ is to cut a nibble off the end and try it. Lime \u00a0juice – I use the bottled stuff because I’m not prepared to pay for fresh limes unless I’m using the zest. \u00a0I also have no objection to lemon juice if I’m all out of lime. Garlic – no. Coriander (that’s cilantro in NA speak) – absolutely.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0304<\/a> With one eye on the traditional method of pummelling everything in a molcajete I put a spoonful of salt, coriander and chilli into my pestle and mortar.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0307<\/a>Bash to a mush. \u00a0Then add a squeeze of lime juice. \u00a0I now have a liquid-ish paste to coat all the avocado chunks. \u00a0Add that to the avocado. \u00a0Then it’s in with my fingers and I squish. \u00a0I thought a fork looked more photogenic, but it isn’t what I do. \u00a0Besides I had to have a clean hand to take the photo.<\/p>\n

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I never use a processor because it’s all too easy to end up with baby food.<\/p>\n

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Chillies, continental spring onions, coriander and seeded tomato go in next.<\/p>\n

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And mix together gently. \u00a0Add a little more lime juice to taste. \u00a0I think Guacamole should taste ‘zingy’.<\/p>\n

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And fresh. \u00a0It really doesn’t keep well. I usually make and serve immediately. \u00a0If you really do need to put it by for an hour or so, then \u00a0cover it tightly in cling film. \u00a0You need to exclude all air so make sure it touches the surface of your Guacamole or you’ll come back and find an unappetising brown sludge.<\/p>\n

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Eat.<\/p>\n

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\"DSC_0323<\/a>Guacamole<\/strong> – a bowlful, easily doubled.<\/p>\n