Have you noticed your local grocery store offering savings on tortilla chips, taco kits, and avocados recently? That’s because Cinco de Mayo (“fifth of May”) is right around the corner! This day, commemorating an important Mexican battle is observed in the U.S. as a day to celebrate Mexican culture and traditions. Of course, as in any celebration, that means there’s always…FOOD!
If you ever ask me what my favorite ethnic cuisine is, I will immediately say, “Mexican!” Beans, cheese, meat, tortilla shells…I’ll take it all (and double of it). I love everything from authentic Mexican to Tex-Mex style dishes, and I’m not alone. A couple of weeks ago I asked our Facebook fans whether they liked Mexican food, and many of them said “Yes, yes, yes!”
Since so many of you claim to be Mexican-food lovers, I thought I’d share a tutorial for how to make a popular Mexican appetizer: guacamole.
Guacamole can be found in almost any Mexican restaurant and is one of the most sought after ingredients at Tex-Mex restaurants. It can be eaten on chips, stuffed into a burrito or taco, on top of a quesadilla, or any other which way you can think of. (Sometimes I eat it with a spoon!)
While many restaurants will charge you more for adding guacamole to your meal, making it at home is actually very easy and much cheaper. I chose an easy guacamole recipe from our site called Chunky Guacamole to show you how to make guacamole.
Here’s what you need:
Not pictured: fresh cilantro
Here’s a tip for picking out the perfect avocados for your guacamole recipe: gently squeeze ‘em. If they give in a little bit they’re ready to be eaten within the next couple of days. If they’re still a little firm you’ll have to wait four or five days for them to ripen.
I chose ripe avocados!
If the avocado is ripe, you can easily scoop out the seed with a spoon and then use the spoon to scoop out the flesh for your recipe. My avocados were ripe enough that I didn’t even need to cube them, so I just halved them and tossed them into the food processer with my garlic clove and lemon juice:
Process for about 15 seconds, but be careful not to overdo it. You want a few chunks for a nice texture.
At first, I was worried I had ventured into “creamy” territory!
Then, I added my chopped onion, green chilies, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. I like my guacamole to have a little bit of a kick to it, but you can definitely leave out the hot sauce without sacrificing on the taste.
After pulsing just a few times, I then put my guacamole mixture into a bowl and stirred in tomatoes, green onions (scallions) and fresh cilantro. To me, fresh cilantro is a must-have in any guacamole recipe, but if you absolutely hate cilantro (there’s a gene for that!) then you could leave this out too.
I hope you appreciate this texture shot as much as I do!
And that’s it. That’s all you need to know to make guacamole. After that, the fun part is finding all the different ways you can eat it. Here’s how I served this one:
As you can see, my guacamole to chip ratio is off….Let’s just say there was a spoon involved too.
Here are some other ideas for how to eat your homemade guacamole:
Clockwise from top left: Layered Nachos Supreme | Tortilla Stack | Guacamole Stuffed Chicken Breasts | Six Layer Dip | Guacamole Deviled Eggs
Before you go and give this simple guacamole recipe a try, I just want to leave you with one more tip! Avocados tend to brown pretty easy, so the age-old question is “How do I stop this from happening?” Well, there are several different ways to do this:
- Keep your leftover guacamole in an airtight container, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Make sure that there are as few air bubbles between the guacamole and the plastic as possible.
- Add a little extra lemon juice to the top of your guacamole mixture, or brush it over the avocado flesh.
- Drop in a Vitamin C tablet right before you process your guacamole. Vitamin C is high in ascorbic acid and will help prevent browning.
Okay, now it’s time to eat some guacamole! But first:
Do you like your “guac” creamy or chunky?