Savory and Spicy Guacamole
This recipe has received a great deal of positive comments. People have asked for
the recipe, so I guess its good. There is a lot of chopping and dicing; a labor
of love. So I thought I would send it to you.
By Russ Cummings [email hidden]
<[email hidden]> comments welcome
About 12-18 Roma tomatoes, diced into 1/4 inch squares
One large yellow onion, peeled, ends well trimmed and diced into
1/4 inch squares, or smaller
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced finely
1 habanero pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced very finely
6 of the smallest jalapeno peppers, stem, and seeds removed,
diced finely
1 jalapeno pepper, cut in half lengthwise and cleaned
1 tablespoon of kosher salt, ground finely
1 teaspoon of ground coriander or 11/2 bunches cilantro, one nice
looking sprig reserved, stems removed and remaining leaves diced
finely
2 limes
6 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
Dice the tomatoes and put in colander in sink to drain well. Yellow onions are the
best for this. They have the most flavor. Pick the most pungent. Trim the onion
well: the hard ends dont masticate well. Throw diced onions in colander on top of
tomatoes. Save a 1/4 cup of tomatoes and onions as a garnish.
Fresh ingredients are part of why this dish is so good. Use real garlic, split
away the cloves, mash with the butt of your favorite kitchen knife, peel the last
skin off and dice finely, smaller than 1/8 pieces. Throw over the onions in the
colander
Do not touch the habanero (scotch bonnet) pepper with your fingers. If you do,
wash with lots of soap and hot water. Dont touch any other skin with this.
Habaneros are about 100 times spicier than jalapenos, but a little bit makes a
smokey flavor you cannot believe. One pepper in this recipe is more seasoning
than a WMD. If you like things really spicy you can double or triple the habanero
peppers. Just remember the longer this dish sits the stronger it gets. Throw the
diced pepper into the colander over the tomatoes, et al and briefly stir with the
knife you used to dice it.
Clean and dice the jalapenos. Smaller ones are spicier. Leaving the seeds in
increases the spiciness, but they are often brown and hard, instead use more green
jalapeno meat. At first add only half of the diced jalapenos; add more at the end
to taste. Again, the spiciness of these jalapenos increases over time. The
flavor migrates into adjoining ingredients.
The extra jalapeno is a garnish; choose a jalapeno with a distinctive shape.
Divide longitudinally, clean away the seeds and insides, and reserve. Shake the
colander and put into a temporary bowl. Add finely ground kosher salt, ground
coriander or cilantro. Roll a lime on the counter, pushing on the sides to pulp
the insides. Split and squeeze 1/2 into the mix, avoid seeds. Mix gently but
thoroughly with a fork, dont touch the tines. You want the peppers fully
integrated with the other vegetables, but you dont want to bruise the vegetables,
especially the tomatoes.
Okay, avocado time. You can do this with un-ripened avocados. It might even be
better if you like chunky guacamole. By cutting around in a circle without
digging into the pit, split the avocado lengthwise; turn the blade to force apart
the halves. Cut the stem away. Remove pit, usually by whacking it with a heavy
knife and pulling the pit out while its stuck to the knife. I can get messy from
here. If you plan to save this guacamole for more than a day, save one pit. If
ripe, scoop into one quart bowl. If unripe, use knife to score meat to the edge
of the skin, making cross hatches and systematically cutting the meat out into the
bowl. Scoop remaining meat into the bowl. Add the juice of one whole lime.
Mash avocado meat into desired consistency. A potato masher is good for this.
Consider leaving some 1/4 chunks for texture. Add the vegetable mixture, stirring
gently but thoroughly to keep the tomatoes intact. Taste. Add more diced
jalapenos to taste, but remember this gets spicier as time goes by.
If storing, transfer to storage bowl. Immerse a pit into the top (while storing
only). This keeps the avocado from turning brown. Squeeze limejuice over all
exposed surface. This keeps the avocado from turning brown. Cover and chill.
Press one half jalapeno into the top (this too will transfer more heat). Store
reserved garnishes separately with an extra lime. This guacamole tastes great
right when you prepare it, but it is even more interesting a day later. When
ready to serve, put into an appropriately festive bowl, remove the pit, squeeze
lime juice over everything, and garnish with diced tomatoes and onions, press a
clean half jalapeno into the top, add a sprig of cilantro, maybe light a Fourth of
July sparkler or two and stick them in. Serve with pigs knuckles, or light
tortilla chips, according to taste. Im just kidding about the pigs knuckles.
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