Homemade guacamole

Here's our second guest blog post from Elly McCausland:

 

It was only a matter of time. I couldn’t get very far into my avocado-eating journey without giving you a recipe for guacamole. I almost feel a bit guilty, though. You see, when I decided to get involved in promoting the benefits of the wonderful avocado, I saw it as a sort of quest to get people thinking outside the guacamole box. We’re a nation of fairly hesitant avocado-eaters, it would seem, largely unsure of what to do with their beautiful culinary potential, instead resorting to the obvious knee-jerk option: our favourite Mexican dip.

However, once I made this homemade version, I realised why. Guacamole can be a deeply beautiful thing. More than that, it’s an absolute pleasure to make; you can’t help but get a little joy out of mashing perfectly ripe, creamy avocados with tangy lime juice, salt and chilli to make a beautifully smooth, subtly flavoured spread. It’s made in minutes, but the result is impressive and delicious.

I’ll get it out of the way early, then. Should you decide not to do something a bit more adventurous with these glorious fruits, you may as well make the best guacamole you possibly can. Homemade guacamole is, I promise you, about a thousand percent better than shop-bought. The supermarkets really cannot compete, with their uniformly-textured, dubiously off-green mush. Once you’ve tried proper homemade guacamole, you will never go back to purchasing it in a plastic tub.

Homemade guacamole (serves 6-8 as a side or dip):

1 red onion, very finely chopped

1 green chilli, very finely chopped

Flaky sea salt (if you can get it, use smoked salt)

5 ripe avocados

Black pepper

Juice of 1-2 limes

A large bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped

In a pestle and mortar, pound half the onion with the chilli and a teaspoon of salt to form a paste. Put this in a large bowl, then scoop out the avocado flesh and add to the bowl. Squeeze in the juice of a lime and add a teaspoon more salt, then mash together with a fork. The amount you mash is up to you – I think guacamole is best when it still has some thick chunks of avocado left.

Add the rest of the red onion and chilli, and the coriander. Now taste: you will probably need more salt and lime juice than you think to really get the flavours to explode, so add as necessary, tasting as you go. Serve in a large bowl with tortilla chips or crisp lettuce leaves to dip, or spoon onto burritos or fajitas.

Optional: if you like a more aromatic, spicy guacamole, scatter over some toasted, crushed cumin and coriander seeds at the end. You could also add chopped tomatoes, jewel-like pomegranate seeds, or finely diced cucumber.