25 August, 2011

House Guacamole

Guacamole is a house specialty that's a hybrid of the Barefoot Contessa and Rosa Mexicano recipes with a bit o' Gwynnie P technique thrown in for good measure...

House Guacamole

4 - 6 avocados, depending on size
juice of one lemon
8 or so generous dashes Tabasco sauce
1 small red onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, and diced (may also use cherry tomatoes, quartered)
1 teaspoon good sea salt

*I use organic ingredients whenever possible

My secret; the authentic el molcajete pronounced mohl-kah-HEH-teh (the mortar) ee tejolote, teh-hoh-LOH-teh (the pestle) my parents Sherpa'd home for me from Ixtapa. I find the grinding key to really releasing flavor...

Once I chop the onion and garlic and, depending on how much Veuve time I have, hand pluck the best Cilantro leaves being careful not to get any stem. Just like Gwynnie...

I put all the garlic and about a third each of the onion and Cilantro into the molcajete (or bowl) followed by the salt which acts as a grinder...

Thoroughly mash into a juicy paste using the tejolote (or back of a wooden spoon)...

Another GP trick I picked up is scoring the halved avocados into cross sections and gently squeezing the sides for easy release of the chunks...

Add the avocado chunks and lemon juice to paste...

Follow with the Tabasco and remaining onion and cilantro. Gently mix being careful not to break down the chunk of the avocado too much...

Fold in the diced tomato...

Adding more salt if needed. Usually is...

Pop in two avocado seeds to keep the browning at bay, per Gwynnie...

Then stand back and watch the lime chips fly...

*Please allow a li'l latitude with exact measurements as I have made this often enough I know just by looking what I need to add of each ingredient based on how many avocados I end up using. I did my best at approximating. And, yes, you may substitute fresh, chopped jalapeño chilies for the Tabasco as my mom does...

Kindness of my parents for lugging the 11 lb. el molcajete ee tejolote through two countries, three airports, numerous security lines and customs for me. But, considering the regularity with which my parents expertly travel with a suitcases stuffed with 49.9999 pounds of cheeses and the likes of a full size vacuum, Simon Pearce handblown beer tankards, 4 months worth of Triscuits, a Bose sound dock, cases of wine annnd pretty much every appliance in their Ixtapa kitchen, that ole volcanic rock mortar and pestle was nuthin'...XXOO

19 comments:

  1. nom! I love guac. For our fist date M. and I went to Rosa Mexicana.....love their guac! I also have a massive molcajete

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excuse my boarding house reach Senorita, gimme one of them there Maryland Crabs, Yum,
    pve

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so excited to try this! I never thought of putting the seeds back in it, the lemon juice usually does the trick for browning. You don't happen to have a Salsa Verde recipe lying around do you? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry. Although not Salsa Verde, Gwynnie had a great Pico de Gallo recipe on GOOP awhile back. Re Make: Mexican Dinner, Family Style...XXOO

    ReplyDelete
  5. YUM!! And I NEED a mortar and pestle like yours... love how rustic it looks, too. (A girl can dream.) xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am going to try this I LOVE guacamole!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't typically trust skinny chefs, but I will be trying this for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You most assuredly must be referring to Gwynnie :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's a myth that that pits prevent it from turning brown-it's all acid! Looks good!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That WS mortar and pestle was on the Fashionable Caroline’s Xmas list...if she didn’t already get it I am sure she will be registering for it! xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh interesting -you use lemon instead of lime! I'll have to try it that way sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  12. goodness; looks like surf's up for you! just heard a report about possible direct hit in ocean city? are you leaving?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Idk yet. This has all come to light in the past couple of hours. The Commander of all disasters is driving from G'wich and can hopefully get here before midnight cuz after that no one is allowed in. Unfortunately, the beach house is on stilts mere yards from the beach sooo, not sure if we're packin' the whip up like the Clampetts and skeedaddling or turning off all the lights and hiding out through the storm. If I'm not up on Monday, start scanning the Weather Channel for video of the 4 of us waving from the rooftop with HELP spelled out in Hermès orange boxes...XXOO

    ReplyDelete
  14. Pack up and skeedaddle out of this one.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hope you get out! We think it's the real deal!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Please leave and get out of there. I am in NC on the coast and I mean right on the coast. One simulator had it coming in at Morehead City/Atlantic Beach. I am 30 miles south of there. I live on a creek right off the inland waterway. I am packing up tonight and evacuating to my Mom's tomorrow (3 miles away) LOL!! But, she is a mile from the inland waterway. I got stuck here during Hurricane Bertha and was one scared child here by myself with my three cats, and that one was only a Cat I. Water was almost to the patio, every tree in my yard was down, I had no phone, no electricity, and the road out was blocked by trees down. That was without a doubt the worst night of my life. I hunkered down in the hall with a flash light, a radio, and the cats all night long. I was even too scared to have a stiff drink to calm my nerves! I felt like I had to keep my wits about me the best I could. I do remember one girl stayed in a cottage on the beach in Topsail Island and she barely got out of the cottage before it washed away. She ended up in waist deep water across the street and had to break in a cottage to get out of the storm. Many of the cottages on Topsail were nothing but a memory after that storm. Honey, go as fast as you can! XXOO

    Wanda

    ReplyDelete
  17. Forgot to ask how long it took for you to season your molcajete? I guess you just keep grinding batches of rice until it stays white? Do you just scrub it out with a brush and hot water? I've been looking at one at Williams-Sonoma for sometime and it is definitely on my list.

    Wanda

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh not that long although, I did do the process twice for good measure. Mine came with directions which, I'm sure you could easily find online. And, yes, you only clean with warm water and a brush...XXOO

    ReplyDelete