Guacamole is one of those things that is super easy to make and yet, somehow, people often go for pre-made guacamole with all its additives; a lot of guacamole on the market has soy product and other totally inauthentic ingredients in it. Once you learn how to make it fresh, you won't want to ever go back to anything else. Also, making it yourself presents an opportunity for you to personalize it to your own palate. Below I listed different ingredients that go well in guacamole, I don't think you should use all of them at once, that would be inadvisable, but try to pick a few from each category and see what you like.
Core Ingredients: Spice Choices: Vegetable Choices:
-Avocados -Garlic -Tomatoes
-Limes + -Cumin + -Red Pepper
-Cilantro -Chipotle -Onion
-Sea Salt -Cayenne -Jalepeno
-Black Pepper
Equipment Needed:
-Knife + Cutting Board
-Mixing Bowl
-Whisk or Potato Masher
Preparation/Cook Time: 5-10 Minutes
Proportion: 1 Avocado to 1/2 Lime = 1 Small Bowl
Difficulty Rank: Easy Peasy
When choosing avocados at the store, you need to pick carefully; if you want to make guacamole today, then buy avocados that are a little bit soft. If you buy avocados that are hard, then you will have to give them 3 days or so to ripen (don't refrigerate in this case). When picking limes, also squeeze them, the ones that are softer have more juice. As for the vegetables I used a white onion because they are good raw, but you could quickly stir-fry the onions for more flavor. Red pepper tends to freshen the guacamole and tomatoes primary add texture; if you want to spice it up you can add some jalapeno or choose any mix of the spices I listed above. There are many variations you can make so just have fun and match up different ingredients.
When choosing avocados at the store, you need to pick carefully; if you want to make guacamole today, then buy avocados that are a little bit soft. If you buy avocados that are hard, then you will have to give them 3 days or so to ripen (don't refrigerate in this case). When picking limes, also squeeze them, the ones that are softer have more juice. As for the vegetables I used a white onion because they are good raw, but you could quickly stir-fry the onions for more flavor. Red pepper tends to freshen the guacamole and tomatoes primary add texture; if you want to spice it up you can add some jalapeno or choose any mix of the spices I listed above. There are many variations you can make so just have fun and match up different ingredients.
In-a-nutshell Directions:
1. Cut up avocado.
2. Squeeze lime juice in bowl, add avocado and mash together.
3. Chop up cilantro and any other veggies desired and mix in.
4. Add any spicing desired and mix in.
5. Taste test and adjust if needed.
Detailed Directions:
1. Cut up the avocado. The best way to go about this is to cut the knife around the middle like in the photo. Then you can cut the halves into quarters. Doing this allows you to peel the skin off easily, rather than trying to scoop the avocado out with a spoon.
2. Put the avocado wedges into the mixing bowl and squeeze 1/2 lime for every avocado you used. Now mix it together with the potato masher or use a whisk to mash the avocado. Don't over mash it since you want it to have chunks rather than be a paste.
3. Chop up the cilantro and any other vegetables that you want to have in the guacamole and mix together.
4. Add salt and any spices that you want to flavor the guacamole with and mix together.
5. Taste test the mix to see if you like it, if not adjust the flavors. It is always better to add less lime juice and salt because you can always add more if there isn't enough. Then you are done!
