Holy Guacamole

I worried about the title of this post . . . but not enough to change it to plain old "guacamole." I know it's the Christmas season, visions of sugarplums and all that jazz, but guacamole is festive, it's red and green! 

I used to hate guacamole and avocados until about a year ago. I just never understood what was the crazy big deal about avocados.  Av-blah-cados was more like it. Sort of bland . . . slimy texture . . . adds nothing to my sandwich . . . no thank you!  And then I went to a dinner party after work one night and I was STARVING! Side note:  I read someones blog (sorry, can't remember whose) and he/she stated, "my empty stomach is the enemy of the world." And I laughed because I can totally identify with that statement. Anyway, I was at a dinner party and I was starving and grouchy and what do you think that they had to nibble on?  That's right, chips and guacamole. But not just any guacamole, Central Market guacamole. My sister loves CM guac and I had tried it, and given it the thumbs down, before but that night I guess the stars aligned with my empty stomach and I liked it! And then I got on a huge guacamole kick and every week I would go and buy a pound of Central Market guacamole. And then my guacamole habit started to get expensive because a) nothing at Central Market is really what I would call "a bargain" (don't get me wrong, I love that store, it's just expensive!) and b) guacamole in particular tends to be on the pricey side of things. So, I embarked on The Great Guacamole Quest 2008 in an attempt to recreate Central Market's guacamole at home. I couldn't find a recipe for it but they are required to print the ingredients on the label that you print out so that got me started.  It was pretty easy to get started:  avocados (duh), tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, and jalapeno (for extra kick). The first few batches I made were ok 

. . . but they were "missing something." And here is where I stumbled on the first "secret ingredient" -- garlic oil. Yup, add some garlic oil and it will add just a hint of garlic flavor and some extra creaminess to the guacamole, it's wonderful. The next "secret ingredient" is more of a tip that I learned from a friend of a friend: soak your onions in the lime juice before you add them to the guacamole and then the onion flavor isn't so pronounced. Now, if you happen to like the flavor of raw onions then you could skip this step. It so happens that I do not like the flavor of raw onions so this was a really amazing tip for me. 

I should add a disclaimer here:  since I've discovered my love for guacamole I have also discovered that pretty much everyone has an opinion on it. Some people like it not have have so much junk in it, some like it seasoned, others don't. So, this is my version that I like and it is highly seasoned, otherwise it'd just be mashed up green gunk and who wants that?  Not me!

Jessica's Guacamole (ripped off from Central Market)

4 ripe avocados (the riper the better)

1 medium, ripe tomato (or equivalent in cherry tomatoes), diced

1/2 of an onion, finely diced 

1 pickled jalapeno (or more if you like your guac spicier), finely diced

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon garlic oil

1 tablespoon of finely chopped, fresh cilantro

plenty of salt and pepper to taste

In a small, non-reactive bowl combine the onion and the lime juice. Peel, remove pit, and mash avacados in a medium bowl.  Add the tomatoes, onion with lime juice, jalapeno, garlic oil, cilantro to the mashed avacados and mix thoroughly to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Grab a chip (or a spoon) and taste the guacamole. Make any adjustments to flavor that you deem necessary. Grab another chip taste and taste for flavor. Repeat this process until you deem the flavor good or you notice that there is significantly less guacamole than when you started.  Serve with:  corn chips or warm corn tortillas.

I should note, the last time I made this, the flavor was "off" and I couldn't figure out why but I think that it may have had something to do with the avacados.  They were soft to the touch and looked ripe on the outside but they were very firm (hard) when I peeled and mashed them. So, the riper the avacados, the creamier your guacamole will be.