Go2 Kitchen

Perfect recipe for guacamole fit for a fiesta!

Go2 Guacamole

Friends and family are always asking me to bring my homemade guacamole to parties. I'm happy to mix up a batch anytime because I love what happens when you bring friends together for a little spicy fun. What makes my recipe so good? Ripe avocados and fresh garlic. This simple recipe will give you and your friends a good reason to mix up some margaritas and have a fiesta!

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

½ fresh lime

1 medium tomato - diced

1 small red onion (just a little smaller than the tomato) diced

¼ cup chopped cilantro (loosely packed)

1 large clove garlic - peeled

Tabasco (or your favorite hot sauce)

Salt

Pepper

Avocado Tomato Garlic Lime Red Onion Cilantro

Tip: The key to great guacamole is ripe avocados. Avocados don’t grow on trees here in the Philly area so when I want ripe avocados, I buy them 2 – 3 days in advance to be sure they are ripe and ready for party time. Ripe avocados are usually dark green and feel soft but not squishy when you give them a gentle squeeze.

reamer, chef's knife, potato masher, garlic press, kitchen scissor

        Recommended Equipment:
         medium sized bowl
         sharp chef's knife
         cutting board
        lemon reamer
         potato masher
         garlic press
         kitchen scissors

        It's more fun to cook
        when you have the right tools!

Using the lemon reamer, squeeze the juice from 1/2 a fresh lime into a medium sized mixing bowl

Cut and peel avocados saving the seed*, add avocados to bowl with lime juice

Mash to desired chunkiness with a potato masher or fork - I like my guac chunky!

Using a garlic press, smash the garlic clove over the avocado mixture then scrape any garlic left on the press into the bowl

Add the diced tomato and onion

Add chopped cilantro

Add two shakes of Tabasco

Lightly toss all ingredients - be carefully not to over mix or you will have mushy guacamole
Season with salt and pepper to taste - add more Tabasco too if you need a bigger kick
Serve with your favorite tortilla chips & veggies - makes a great topping for homemade fajitas!

*Why save the seed? Many years ago, some Peruvian friends, Luz and Rosie brought amazing guacamole to our office party. I noticed that after mixing all the ingredients, they put the pits back into the bowl. Rosie told me that the pits help keep the guacamole fresh. While many will tell you this is a myth, who am I to question a master guacamole maker? My advice for keeping things fresh; make the guacamole no more than a few hours before serving, cover by putting plastic wrap directly on the dip, keep it cold and covered until you are ready to serve and yes, do throw in the seeds. With a few good friends and some delicious guac, you won't have to worry about having any leftovers!

Tomato Tip: When prepping tomatoes for guacamole, cut the top off by cutting in towards the core.

Before dicing, squeeze out most of the seeds and liquid out of the tomato to keep your guacamole from getting soggy.

cut tomatoes so that it is easy to squeeze out excess liquid

Tip: To cut and peel an avocado, carefully hold the avocado in the palm of one hand. Cut an avocado lengthwise by inserting a sharp chef’s knife and stopping when you feel the knife hit the pit. Guide the knife around, not through the avocado pit completing a cut from top to bottom, all around the fruit. Separate the avocado halves by twisting the two avocado halves the same way you would separate an Oreo.

To remove the pit, make a small chop with your knife into the pit. Be sure that your knife is firmly wedged into the pit and then holding the avocado half with the pit firmly in one hand, turn your knife handle away from you. The pit should pop out as it rotates.

To peel, cut the halves into quarters or smaller slices. Using your fingers or a spoon, the skin should easily separate from the avocado. Enjoy!