Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Holy Mole!

Guacamole that is!

I'm going to post my awesome recipe for guacamole that I have been perfecting for quite some time.  Before I do that however I need to clarify a few things:
My recipe is exactly how I like it.  Every person has different taste buds.  So I'm not going to sit here and say every person on the planet is going to love my version of guacamole because that's just ridiculous.  

But...if you like your guac chunky yet creamy, spicy, citrus-y, garlic-y, cilantro-y, with just the right amount of saltiness then this is the guac for you!

First things first!  Avocados!



GOOD avocados are the absolute key to delicious guacamole.  (Duh)  But sometimes it's hard to tell if one is going to be sweet, nutty and creamy or bland, brown and stringy (barf.) 


Generally I buy all my avocados from Costco and I have never had a bad one.  And I go to Costco a lot! But if you don't have a Costco near you then head to the grocery store and spend some quality time getting to know your "cado's."  Shell out the big bucks for the large ones! They have to be the perfect ripeness but not too ripe.  Mushy=nasty.  But when pressed with your thumb they should give and leave an indentation.  Too hard and they'll have no flavor.  

One thing you have to promise me is that once you get started and you discover an avocado that looks ok but has a stringy-ness to it that you will THROW IT OUT.  Nobody wants stringy guac. 


green Jalapeno, red jalapeno, Serrano

I love heat.  If my nose is running and the back of my throat is burning then it's the perfect amount of spice.  I use these three chili peppers and believe me, they have a lot of kick. Especially that red jalapeno.  Yowza.  Don't be cutting that baby and then scratch an itch on your face.  My chin was burning red for about a half hour afterward. 

So the heat of the guacamole is completely up to you.  For this particular batch I used 7 avocados (feeding a lot of people!) and diced up all of the green jalapeno and Serrano chili pepper into the mix but used only half of the red.  Honestly I could have used all of it.  When your 2 year-old is inhaling your guac then you know it's not spicy enough.  Or maybe I've successfully conditioned my children to love spicy foods.  

Tip: Make sure to get all those little seeds into the concoction.  Those babies are the carriers of heat! 



 limes, garlic, red onion, cilantro, tomatoes 

For the remaining ingredients: fresh is always best.  
I usually use red onions rather than white.  They have a more mild, sweeter flavor which makes them perfect for raw eating.   Again, I don't measure things, I go by taste.  I used about 1/2 cup of onion in this large batch.  Dice them very, very finely unless you like eating large chunks of onion.  Just make sure you carry some kind of minty gum on you.  

Garlic.  Please invest in a garlic press if you don't already have one.  


It will pulverize garlic and bring the most flavorful, pungent juice and meat into the guacamole that no amount of mincing can replicate.  I used about 4 large cloves of garlic ( I LOVE garlic!)

A word about Cilantro: it's an herb that most people either love or hate.  I love it.  Hubby hates it.  Incidentally he loves my guacamole and I use copious amounts of cilantro.   Go figure.  So moral of the story, even if you can't stand cilantro, use it anyway.  Guacamole is just not the same without it.  Chop it into tiny pieces and you'll never know!


Take all the meat from the avocados and dump it into a large bowl.  Throw all the other chopped and diced ingredients right in there with it.  Then salt and pepper according to your taste buds.  Lastly, juice those limes right into the bowl.  I used EIGHT limes for this and I love, love that sour taste.  So keep that in mind.  

Next I grab a large slotted spoon and start mixing.  I alternate chopping with squishing.  If that makes any sense.  Basically you want it to be good and chunky but also have a creaminess to it.  Once it's mixed how you prefer, do some taste tests and salt or pepper or juice it some more. 

Finally I douse a bit of some tasty hot sauce into the mixture, depending on what I have on hand.  Usually it's Trader Joe's Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce.  Not too spicy.  Just right.


Now you should have a beautiful bowl of savory, flavorful, creamy, delicious guacamole!   Reach for a spoon chip and dig in!


 Or grab a younger brother and have him run some taste tests.  He needs to be rockin' a killer goatee too.  

7 comments:

Hayley said...

my mouth is watering and my ears are burning.

yes. ears. they can't take the heat. and neither can i, really, i'm such a light weight. when you said that you throw in the seeds i literally gasped.

Vanessa said...

looks so so yummy! I LOVE guacamole! Maybe we need to have another park party and have you bring the guac! :)

Carly said...

You're a wuss Hayley! haha.

Lindsay said...

Yum.

Scott needs to work on looking more natural for shoots such as these.

debora said...

I love feeling the heat in the back of my throat after that first delicious bite... the combination of the cilantro, garlic, hot, hot, chilies, creamy avocados, and fresh burst of lime is heavenly!!(channeling Giada here).

TR said...

Yum! My mouth is watering! I love cilantro too. Absolutely essential. Thx for posting the recipe!

Kelsi {John, Jake, Georgia, Naomi, Alice} said...

I'm wish Vanessa! Let's party!! That sounds good.

LW

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