Monday, September 26, 2011

Summer Loving and Longing




Unfortunately it always seems that summer comes too slowly and leaves us far too quickly. As we near the end of September and before my mind switches to serious fall fare, with aromatic apple pies and every thing perfectly pumpkin [[yum!!]], I started getting nostalgic about all the goodies we had during our Hampton's trip and I couldn't stop thinking about the...





Guacamole.

Oh god I love the Guac! You can have it plain, you can have it with chips, you can put it on a burger or substitute it for the mayo in your lobster roll.. I digress. While I enjoy guacamole year round it always seems to taste better in the summer. Maybe it's the freshness of the tomatos, maybe it's just that I can't stand to live without it, but for me guacamole is a summertime staple.

Ingredients:
2 avocados
1 bunch of cilantro
1 small white onion
1-2 tomato (cut tomato and remove the seeds)
1/2 a lime
salt and black pepper
1-2 Jalapenos depending on your preference, you can choose to leave these out


Picking the avocado's:
When I first started making guacamole, one of the things I had the hardest time doing was picking the right avocado's. If you are purchasing avocado's for guacamole that you plan on making that day you should be able to press your finger easily into the side of the avocado. The leathery peel should yield to your touch. If you're shopping ahead of time and not planning on making the guacamole until later in the week you should look for a firmer avocado that still needs some time to ripen.

The best thing you can do when making guacamole is to go get yourself a molcajete, which is really just a grainy stone mortar and pestle. It helps to combine the ingredients so that you're not just getting chunks of different ingredients here and there but a true blended flavor. You want to take the white onion that you've chopped and the cilantro and grind them into a paste. Once you've broken down the onions and the cilantro has started to have a pesto-like consistency, season with salt. If you like a little spice, which I do, you will want to grind the jalapeno as well while you're doing this.

Once your paste is done take the avocado and cut it in half. Avocado's have a large circular pit in the center so be aware that you will be unable to cut through it. To separate the halves I like to take either side that I've cut and twist it like I was opening a jar. Note that one of your avocado halves will still have the pit in it. The easiest way to remove the pit is to simply hold that half in your hand and gently squeeze, the pit should pop right out.
Then cut the avocado flesh, the soft green part, that remains in the skin in a grid-like pattern. Pinch both sides and the ripe avocado should fall out easily. Discard the peel. If you're having trouble with this grab a spoon and scoop out the inner part.

Mix the avocado into your paste. When you have reached the consistency you like, squeeze the lime juice into the mixture and add the tomatos. Mix thoroughly. Do not grind the tomato's! Through lots of trial and error I've found that when I grind the tomatos into the mixture I don't like the consistency of the guacamole. Lime juice in addition to adding flavor, helps to keep the guacamole from oxidizing. Avocado's when exposed to air tend to brown like apples once they've been cut. This doesn't effect the flavor or make it unfit to eat but it doesn't look nearly as pretty.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste and enjoy!!


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