Guacamole recipe

[vlad]

Anyone have a fail-safe recipe for a quick, simple gaucamole?

Made one tonight and it was good, but not outstanding.

I used a ripe avocado, as well as lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

What am I missing? Don't want anything over-complicated or that masks the taste of the avocado.

Advice?

[nja]

Boy, there are some pretty wild interpretations on guacamole out there.

I was raised on the idea that guacamole = avocado + tomato salsa. But in the last few years I have realized that I greatly prefer the minimalist approach. That said, I don't always stick to the trinity of avocado, lime, and salt. Here's what I do:

Avocado
Salt
Fresh lime juice
Jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (Optional*)
Garlic, minced (Optional*)

Combine all ingredients and mash with a fork (or potato masher if you've got a lot of it). Serve immediately.

*These I omit when the guac is mainly going to be condiment on something else like a tostada, taco, or salad. But when I eat it with chips, I like the added complexity that they add. Use them sparingly (about 1 chile and one-half clove of garlic for every TWO avocados) so that they allow the trinity to shine. Though I'm a huge spicy food junkie, I remove the seeds and ribs for guac because I don't want it to be spicy.

When I have not-so-good avocados, which happens during the colder months sometimes, I'll go back to the avocado + salsa format and add chopped tomatoes and onions to the above. But this is becoming nearly extinct in my kitchen.

I personally would NEVER add many of the other ingredients mentioned in this thread, as I agree with the OP that I "don't want anything over-complicated or that masks the taste of the avocado." Black pepper and cilantro top the list of no-nos for me as I think just a tiny bit ruins the other flavors. Also forbidden are: cumin, sour cream, zest, cheese, bottle sauces and salsas, oils.

[TexasToast]

Ahhh, cumin tastes hot!

TT

[Meg]

Adding a touch of sour cream keeps it from turning brown (a must for parties where it will be sitting out) and makes it creamier without altering the flavor.

[MVNYC]

Guacamole

2 ripe dark green avacados
1/2 clove of garlic mashed to a paste with salt using knife
minced cilantro to taste
minced jalapeno to taste
juice of one small lime or half a big one
dash or two of hot sauce
kosher salt

mash together to desired chunkiness.

Things i do not want in my guacamole-cream cheese, sour cream or mayo

[twentyoystahs]

Yes, lots of ideas on what is authentic guac. I always get rave reviews on my guac, after lots of variations, here is the recipe of choice:

2 ripe Hass avocados
Approx 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 plum tomato, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste if necessary
A few dashes of durkees "red hot" sauce, again, to taste
sea salt

After mixing this all up, I do a few tastes. Sometimes it needs a few more dashes of red hot sauce, salt, or lemon...it varies. It's pretty easy to figure out what's lacking though, and then just doctor it up, as necessary.

I have tried it with lime, I prefer lemon. Gives the guac a bit more of a tang. Used to put in abt 1/4 cup of onion, but I'm not a raw onion fan and I decided the recipe could really take it or leave it.

I am a guac purist and firmly believe that you should never add anything like Mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, to guac. That's not guac, but more like a guac "dressing."

[Robert Lauriston]

1 or more ripe Hass avocados
salt to taste
fresh lime juice to taste (optional)

Peel and pit avocados. Mash with a fork. Stir in salt and lime juice gradually until it tastes right.

If the avocados are good, it's a sin to add anything else. If you want it spicy, serve salsa on the side.

[revsharkie]

avocado, salt, lime juice, onion, maybe a little garlic, sometimes some ground cumin, or if I'm really lazy a big spoonful of fresh salsa if I've got some (don't use the stuff that's in a jar).

My mom got her recipe from a friend from Veracruz; all she puts in hers is salt and onion. Not even any lime juice. It's okay, but the lime juice really makes it pop.

[BrunchOrBust]

I used to work at a Mexican place in New York whose guac was the main attraction - I think it got write-ups in Gourmet. I don't have the gigantic stone mortar and pestle, so it's a little on the chunky side (which I kind of prefer anyway), but it's easy as pie and delicious. Here's the link:

http://www.avocado.org/recipes/view.p...

[designerboy01]

Here is the recipe in detail. Its pretty easy.

2 avocados
3/4 of a brick of softened Cream Cheese (or more)
1/4 cup salsa (or more)
1 tsp garlic powder (or more)
juice of 1/2 a lemon (or lime)
salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocado and cream cheese together (with a fork or potato
masher), add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

See so easy, not even so much a recipe!

[amoncada]

Absolutely not...do not put cream cheese in your guacamole. If you like, crumble some anejo crumbly cheese over the top, but never cream cheese.

[designerboy01]

Its your choice, but the first time I had this it really wowed me that I had to get the recipe. It was really creamy and good.

[Divamac]

If I had to make these overly-complicated guacamole recipes, I'd never make guacamole!

Mine is avocado mashed with a fork, lime juice and kosher salt. Period. I believe anything else gets in the way of the true avocade taste.

I will also make a salad of chunked avocado, tomato, sweet onion, lime juice and salt, but that is not guacamole. It is very good, however.

[UptownKevin]

I agree that people are over-complicating things, but is yours really a guacamole? Or is it mashed up avocado dressed with lime juice and salt?

-Kevin

[amoncada]

This is not guacamole...it's mashed avocado's. Try my recipe above, you may disagree with the ingredients but your friends will love it and crave it.

[Divamac]

i beg to differ. In Mexico, all I ever get servied is mashed avocado, lime juice and salt. For the sake of a citation, I give you Wikipedia:

Guacamole is an avocado-based relish or dip from the time of the Aztecs. In addition to avocados, the basic ingredients are lime juice, salt, and a large amount of black pepper (although authentic guacamole omits black pepper as it was not known in Mexico in Aztec times). Variations often include tomato, chiles, onion, coriander, garlic, and other spices...
Recipes for guacamole vary, and are somewhat dependent on availability of ingredients as well as personal taste. The most basic of these is mashed avocados with a pinch of salt and sometimes a dash of lime juice.

So I reassert that I prefer the simplicity of a guacamole that highlights the flavor of fresh, ripe avocado.

[Sharuf]

That Wikipedia black pepper reference is downright weird. Must have been written by someone in the wrong corner of the US. A touch of salsa picante is OK, though.

[ghbrooklyn]

No, that Wiki writer is right on.
A little ground chile is a nice addition, but guacamole should be avacado, salt and lime. All these other additions seem to me like attempts to cover an underripe or flavorless avacado.

[nja]

I had to edit the Wiki entry. "a large amount of black pepper" is absurd. I have had guac all over California and Mexico, in restaurants and in homes, and rarely if ever does it contain black pepper, much less a large amount of it. It does show up sometimes, mostly in American (non-Mexican) homes, but it is not remotely part of the standard recipe or basic ingredients from what I have seen.

[Michele4466]

All I do is add diced and seeded tomatoes (the best you can find), finely diced red onion, fresh lime (not lemon) juice (make sure to roll the limes to release juices) and salt (drop of pepper) to taste. Use your judgement as to the amounts... I love tomato and red onion so if it is just me and the hubby, I add more, eyeball it to your taste.

You can add some minced/finely chopped garlic if you like, I do not (don't think it is needed) and we love garlic.

I leave it chunky, not too much so to break the chips but I do not cream it.

My gaucamole is requested at every gathering and it gets rave reviews. It is so simple and like other posters mentioned, simple can be best sometimes. We eat it fairly often due to avocado being one of my few pregnancy cravings.

Enjoy experimenting, try it different ways to see which you prefer...

[jackie de]

I pretty much keep it simple as most of the posters when I have the time, but if neighbors or friends drop by and I need some guac right now, I use Frontera's(Rick Bayless) guacamole mix. I'll add some fresh lime juice,just a dash of evoo, and a bit of salt,plus a few T. of mix to a nice ripe avacado. If I have some fresh cilantro, I'll mince a bit and add, but if not, the mix has some in it so it isn't necessary. I know it's cheating,but it has great flavor and contains no presevatives. If you've ever had guac at frontera grill, this mix will give you a very close second to theirs.

[Jack_]

I chop up some black olives and add instead of salt

[amoncada]

Traditional Guacamole:

Keep your guacamole simple and aviod adding any more ingredients other than those below.

Ingredients:
4-6 ripe avocado's (should be slightly soft but not totally mushy)
1 to 2 small ripe roma tomato's drained, seeded, and diced
1/2 small white onion diced fine
small bunch of chopped cilantro
1 to 2 serrano peppers diced fine
salt to taste
1 to 2 teaspoon's of fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
1 to 2 garlic cloves chopped (optional)
crumbled Mexican anejo cheese (available in most Mexican stores and many specialty stores as well)

Directions:
Place half of all ingredients and set in bottom of large bowl except for avocados and lime/lemon juice, and crumbled cheese.
Next remove avocados from peel with spoon. Add avocados to bowl and mash ingredients to desired consistency with potato masher. Do not over mash.
Next add lime or lemon and more of the ingredients to desired proportions/flavor.
Using a potato masher rather than a fork will extract more flavor from the ingredients.
Crumble some anejo cheese over top of guacamole.

This recipe will surely impress. Everyone will be asking for it again and again.

[TexasToast]

Perfect! That's exactly how I do it, minus the cheese.

TT

[TexasToast]

I just made this the other day, only I left out the cheese, used a red onion, and added a pinch of cumin. It turned out great!

TT

[adamandeve]

Three things you are missing that are key to make my grandmother's guacamole. I am from Colombia, not Mexico, so we don't do it spicy, but add jalapenos if you wish.

1) Lime, not lemon
2) Cilantro, chopped finely
3) Grated white onion. I cannot tell you how key this is. It is indispensable. Much better than garlic, and the juice of the grated onion is what puts it in another level.

IMO, simplicity is the key for a good guacamole.
Plus, the avocados need to be ripe. The stupid avocados that sell here (New York) need to be rapped in newspaper for 2 or 3 days for them to get to a good point.

[Sharuf]

I agree re no garlic. IMO garlic adds the wrong note - it seems more Mediterranean than Aztec. A hint of onion gives the right lift.

[Maxmillion]

Have you tried putting them in a brown bag with a banana to assist with ripening?

[rtmonty]

Adding a little pinch of ground cumin is nice along with cilantro, a little red onion, a little diced tomato and, of course, some japapeno, fresh is best but pickled if you don't have fresh. And, always fresh lime juice. I just mash the avacado with a fork, like to leave some texture to it.

[pescatarian]

My favourite and most simple recipe is:

3 ripe avocados
juice of 3-4 limes
3-4 cloves garlic
little salt
splash of tobasco

mash with a pastry knife until mixed but leave some texture

[designerboy01]

I mix mine with cream cheese which makes it pretty creamy.

[cooknKate]

I have recently started zesting some lime zest into my guacamole and it adds a delicious tang to it. I chunk the avocado, I don't mash it since it tends to break down a little from the acid in the lime juice. I like tomato chunks in it, garlic for sure, kosher salt and cilantro.

[squeaks]

Garlic is absolutely essential. Here's my recipe, which is easily doubled:

1 ripe avocado
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp cilantro, finely sliced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt to taste

The amounts of each ingredient used are variable, so add or take away depending on your personal tastes. I always get raves on this guacamole.

[sivyaleah]

This is pretty much what I do and I agree about amounts being variable, except I leave out the jalapeno (just a personal preference) and use 1/2 a red onion instead. Just a good basic recipe, everyone loves it. I only use Haas avocados.

[SarahEats]

I'm surprised so many people put tomato in their guacamole. I prefer a simple recipe (like squeaks) that really highlights the flavor of the avocado - just avocado, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper, maybe cilantro if I have it and sometimes grated onion if I remember.

[TexasToast]

But, you REALLY can't taste the "tomato-e-ness" of it, because you peel and deseed them first. It just adds another subtle flavor and some moisture.

TT

[SarahEats]

I guess I'm just a tomato snob (being from NJ and all). If I can't really taste the tomato, my philosophy is "why put it in at all?" I hate getting a sandwich or a burger that has tomato on it and all it provides is color.

For my guacamole, I get enough moisture from the lime juice and I really like to prevent anything masking the taste of the avocado. Personal preference, I guess.

[Maxmillion]

right! (I am reply to TT)

[sivyaleah]

Who said anything about tomato in this part of the thread?

[squeaks]

I agree with SarahEats -- guac should definitely be tomato-less.

[jesse]

one ripe avocado

one clove of garlic, diced

one-half to a full jalapeno, preferably charred or toasted on a dry skillet, diced

fresh cilantro (leaves and stalk) to taste

mix together in a bowl, mashing the avocado and combining the other ingredients

add juice of one lime and a pinch of kosher salt and mix once more..

[Marsha]

Since you want to keep it simple, just scoop out your avocado, mash it with a fork (or potato masher if you have several avocados), squeeze some lime over it, add some very finely diced tomato, put some onion in a garlic press and squeeze the juice over the mixture, and mix. Salt to taste (it may not need any). When in doubt, add less of everything except the avocado - you can always add more.

[Maxmillion]

That's almost exactly how I make mine (sorry -- garlic instead of pressed onion, tho I may try that now). I sometimes add a teaspoon of creme fraiche/sour cream/youghurt, tho my sweetheart prefers it when I don't...
I also don't feel the need to add salt (tomatoes do nicely).

[chowda]

here's my recipe, which tends to get a decent amount of compliments (these are all aprox., and according to taste):

1/2 a white onion
2 med sized tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
jalapeno/green chili (if you like spicy)
3-4 avocados...the smaller black ones, not the green ones
1/2 of a lime
cilantro (if you like cilantro)

chop the onion and tomatoes into cubes. Chop the garlic into a few pieces, and do the same with the jalapeno.

Put the garlic, jalapeno and onion into the blender. Add a little of the tomatoes so that mix will blend easily. Also squeeze a quarter of the lime juice into the blender. Blend until liquid.

Scoop the avocado into a bowl, and then mash it with a fork. (mashing with a fork tends to leave the avocado with some texture). Then mix in the cubed tomatoes. Pour in some of the "salsa" from the blender, then taste. Then add more salsa if needed or more lime juice. Serve, and enjoy!

[Sharuf]

Avocado, lime juice, a hint of minced green onion, and a little green salsa picante or a splat of salsa verde.

I don't add cilantro because I think it messes up the texture. And I don't add tomato or red salsa because it messes up the color.

[Karl S]

Agreed. I also am one of the cilantro-impaired. I'd add minced celery leaves if necessary instead.

[TexasToast]

Well, in addition to the avocado, I always use

a little garlic
cilantro
lime juice
salt
peppar
green chili
diced red onion
diced, skinned, and de-seeded tomato

Otherwise, it's just an avocado mash.

TT

[Carrie 218]

I'm not a purist, mine has a tablespoon of salsa ('cuz I'm too lazy to dice the tomatos and cilantro myself for the small amount I want) plus sour cream which makes it exceptionally creamy.

[Pei]

Use lime juice instead of lemon juice and the flavors will immediately come together for you. Lemon just just won't give you that authentic guacamole flavor.

You can dress it up with a little bit of tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion, but the simplest recipe is lime juice and salt. No pepper.

[Pei]

PS. and chopped jalepeno, you decide how many seeds you keep.