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How simple is this? Start a blog and lavish in everyone's praise of your insights and new ways of reasoning. OK, so I'll lay of the additional cough syrup this morning to debut my first recipe. One that I believe to be the best guacamole recipe ever. Most of my friends will understand why I picked this particular dish to lead my chin with. My wife and I are lucky in that we have many amazing friends, and most of them ask us over for dinner, bbqs, drinks, etc. But nearly all of them have the caveat that I bring my guacamole (and they typically aren't kidding, or state that it is optional). Most of the time, I think they wouldn't be hurt if I dropped off the Best Guacamole Ever along with my wife and simply drove home.
Because this is my space, I need to provide a few kudos to Wandering Chopsticks who had developed one of the most amazing series of blogs on how to start a food blog. Certainly an inspiration to me. Lose yourself for a few hours and visit his site.
Alright, alright...You found this site somehow, so let's get into the guacamole recipe. Some of this is an adaption of about three or four recipes and well over a decade of sanding the edges. Much of it can be gleaned from Cook's Illustrated, but there has been a lot of work put into this. There are no tomatoes in the recipe either. To me it imparts a change in texture and flavor that I just don't like as much. It is more about letting the avocado soak in the clean flavors of the ingredients without forsaking the recipe just because you want the color red to appear in it.
Ingredients:
4 Avocados
1/3 cup Cilantro chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded, stemmed, minced fine
1/4 cup Onion, minced fine (yellow or white, but not sweet)
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4-1/2 t Ground Cumin
1 Lime, juiced
1/2-1 t Salt (Morton's iodized)
Corn chips (pick your fav)
Shopping for ingredients
Let's start with avocados. Remember the trick about testing a steak for doneness? Make a fist and squeeze your thumb hard. Notice the muscle between your thumb and forefinger pushing up hard. Poke with your other finger. That should be the firmness of the avocado when you take one in your hands. Now feel the same muscle when you aren't squeezing your thumb hard. There is a lot of give. If you pick that avocado, then it is either too ripe or bruised beyond recognition. Just whatever you do, don't pick ones that are rock hard, that causes you cramps in your hands when you try to feel for any give in them. They simply are not ready now, but maybe in a few days. If you want to make this in a few days, place the hard avocados in a bag (even with an apple) to accelerate the ripening process. Additionally, you can keep them in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process (for a bit). For the sake of this recipe, don't mess with perfection. Simply use the Hass avocado -- the one with the dark, pebbly skin. I've never had much luck with the bigger California bred monster avocados.
Next is cilantro. Almost every market should have this and I really cannot recommend a replacement. At least not for the Best Guacamole Recipe Ever! The leaves should be a nice bright green and the stems shouldn't be brown. Check the inside stems as well. Just simply know how much you need and get the best bunch you can find. Regular vs. organically grown cilantro doesn't matter...at least in this recipe. As for storing, wash it off and wrap in a few paper towels and place in a plastic bag that isn't completely closed. It will last a lot longer.
Jalapenos are another critical element. Try to find one that isn't with wrinkly skin or with a lot of blemishes. It should be as big as your thumb or bigger (of course, some thumbs are bigger than others). Generally, they go for about $.10 each.
White or yellow onions are the way to go, as long as they are not the sweet/vidalia type of onion. I stay away from the red onion, although my wife likes to use them if for no other reason than to send me into a conniption.
Garlic is garlic, but try to use fresh stuff if possible. Jarred chopped or minced garlic is ok in a pinch. And if it is a BIG clove, substitute it for the two needed. This isn't an Emeril recipe.
Ground cumin is something I never thought much of until this recipe. Now I can tell exactly when it has been used because it imparts such a unique flavor in any dish...especially this one. This spice is NOT an option. It is a requirement.
Limes need to be nice and juicy so pick out ones that have a little give to them (not too hard) and a very smooth glossy skin. The wrinkly, rough or brown skins on limes are your worst enemy. Let someone else in dire need of limes for their Coronas pick those.
Salt is one of those ultimate spices that can bring such balance to a dish if used correctly. I've tried this recipe with both kosher salt and regular table salt. To me, table salt simply blends in better. The Kosher salt can end up concentrating its flavors a little more than I like. But if used appropriately, either can be used. Just give the Kosher salt a little mroe time to break down and blend in a little more before serving.
Ready - Set --- I Said "Get Set!"
First things first, gather all of your ingredients and proportion them appropriately. It's much easier to follow a recipe -- ANY recipe -- after you prep all your ingredients.
1. Cut avocados vertically in half, twist to break apart and expose the two sides. With a gentle whack, use your knife to cut into the seed and gently twist until the seed breaks free from the goods. Make sure to get rid of that pesky little stem knob as sometimes it can find its way into the mix (embarrassing to say the least). Finish the remaining three avocados. Next, make one-inch wide cube marks in the flesh all the way down to the skin in five halves of the avocados in order to assist you in breaking them down (since you cut all of them in half, you should have eight halves). Please be careful not to cut through the skin and into your hand.
2. Grab a handful of cilantro and strip the leaves off. I try to clear a majority of stems out of the mix as they just don't impart the flavor of cilantro as well as the leaves. If you have a good handful, then grab your knife and coarsely chop them up. You don't want to eat a whole leaf when you dip, but you also don't want to turn this into a pesto consistency. Place the chopped cilantro into a medium mixing bowl.
3. Cut the stemmed top of the jalapeno off and then slice down the middle to open the pepper in half. Gently use the knife to remove the white pith (ribbing) and all of the seeds. Then mince the jalapeno well. Place in the bowl.
4. The onion needs to be mined fine as well. A 1/4 cup minced might be about a slice or two of onion so be careful about mincing too much up. Make sure this isn't chunky! Place in the bowl.
5. Remove the paper cover from the garlic, cut the very woody end off and then place a big knife laid flat over the top of the garlic and smash it down with your fist (please try not to lose a limb doing this...it would change the whole focus of my blog). Then bring your knife at attention and begin mincing the garlic well. I also use the flat edge of the blade to crush it into a pulp. Place in the bowl.
6. Measure out a 1/4 t of cumin, cut your lime in half, and have your salt on standby.
Let's Get It On!
Grab a medium mixing bowl and spoon all the flesh of the three avocado halves into the bowl already holding your chopped cilantro, minced jalapeno, onion, and garlic.
At this point we are going to create our binder. I want you to grab a potato masher and give it 5 or 6 good mashes to incorporate everything. Then add the cumin and mash one or two more times. Stir with a nice-sized spoon and don't be tempted to eat it yet. It should have the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes.
Next spoon in the flesh of the five remaining cubed avocado halves into the bowl. Squeeze one-half of the lime into the bowl and add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Grab the potato masher again and give it three good mashes to just break down the cubed avocados. Stir a few times with your big spoon to incorporate everything evenly. This allows the cubes to meld just right with the various flavors of the binder without having to feel that you are eating just an avocado with seasoning.
At this point it is CRITICAL that you taste the concoction. Usually I add a little more lime and another sprinkle of salt, mix and then taste again. But this is the one part of the Best Guacamole Recipe Ever that is about personal preference (maybe I should have titled my blog something like "Recipe Subjectivity: I Won't Care if You Won't"). Adding just a little at a time should give you something wonderful.
Ideally you should cover the mix with plastic wrap, pushing it onto the guacamole and forcing out all air pockets, refrigerating for at least an hour if not more. This allows everything to achieve a balance in taste.
Time to dig in. I am partial to Tostito corn chips (my sons loves the lime-flavored ones), but just make sure the chip isn't the focus of the enjoyment.
What do you think? I welcome any and all comments, especially if clarification is needed on any methods to the madness or ingredient explanations. I am certainly one of those people who hates things that aren't made clear (what is the difference between chopped small and diced?).
