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My Guacamole |  |
Fresh & Seasonal, Perfect for Taco Tuesdays and Party Appetizers. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Unusually Low Cal. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real.
"I'm Famous for ... "
Do you ever study a restaurant menu to decide what to order, then ask the server, "What're you famous for?" It's a great way to fix on what the chef is proud of, what other guests really love.
Awhile back, a new friend asked, "So what're you famous for?"
I had to think! What am I famous for, recipe-wise? It was time to take stock.
- THE GOOD THING I am known as a good cook but in general way.
- THE REALIZATION But I had no real specialties: no cuisine, no course, not even one particular recipe that I'd call "mine". For the record, I'd love to be good at appetizers!
- SIGNATURE RECIPES And yes, I wanted signature recipes, recipes to be famous for!
ISO Signature Recipes: It's Changed How I Cook.
Readers, what're you known for? What're the recipes your kids will remember you for? What're the recipes people request, especially? Does it matter to you?
I decided to refine and perfect certain dishes, ones I "wanted" to be famous for, for people to remember me for. Perhaps this practice might work for you, too?
- JUST A FEW At any time, I'm perfecting only four or five recipes.
- FAMILY FAVORITES I focus on recipes that fit everyday life, made often.
- JUST COOK I don't "test" recipes just for testing. We eat what I make.
- BUT DO TAKE NOTES! Batch to batch, it's impossible to remember the detail, especially for small tweaks. When you make a change, did you notice? What was worth being specific? Is there room for variability? Can you simplify?
And it's working! I'm super-proud of nearly every recipe at Kitchen Parade, a collection that dates back to 2002. I know virtually every one inside and out.
But since starting this new focus on signature recipes, certain ones stand out, they're somehow "mine". My Bread. My Everyday Salad Dressing. My Chicken Noodle Soup. Ha! I just realized, I even named these recipes as mine!
And now? The house guacamole. Make that My Guacamole. And it's getting rave reviews!
Compliments!
I've made single and double batches of this bright and colorful guacamole for every party for almost two years now.
And while my other dishes get eaten, it's the guacamole that grabs attention. Family and friends have come to know that I make good guacamole, even really good guacamole.
At a taco party after the holidays, I overheard somebody say, "Oh look! Miss Alanna made her guacamole!" and was especially pleased when another guest, born in Mexico and a chef in a local chef-driven street taco joint, nodded his head to say, "That's good guacamole."
And then the next day, at another family gathering, people were still talking about my guacamole ... now that's good guacamole.
What's In Good Guacamole? Pantry Ingredients! Party Ingredients!
In all my recipes and most well-written recipes, every ingredient serves a purpose. Each one matters.
And in guacamole, balance matters too. So I'm very specific about amounts and hope that you'll stick to them too. Don't just throw in an extra avocado or an extra tablespoon of lime juice. It throws off the balance. Me? I've learned this the hard way.
That said, our house guacamole is written for our taste which might not match yours. So once you've tasted the base recipe, make it yours, make it to your taste. Does it need more heat? Add it. Does it need more acidity? Add it. And so on! In this way, our house guacamole becomes the inspiration for your house guacamole.
- Avocados Ripe but not soft, cut into cubes.
- Tomato Roma tomatoes work best, they're firm and cut up easily. In the summer, I use ripe garden tomatoes but drain them on paper towels, otherwise, they're just too juicy.
- White Onion Dice the onion really fine, as fine as you can make it with a sharp knife. For double and triple batches, I've tried using the food processor for a shortcut. Sorry, that onion is too fine.
- Jalapeño Much to my surprise, the jalapeño is optional! The heat in this guacamole comes from the white onion. Fresh jalapeño is good, just mince it as small as possible with a sharp knife. I also use Pickled Jalapeño Rings, good! And poblano is good too!
- Lime Juice Don't skip the lime juice! It keeps the avocados from turning brown. Its acid creates contrast with the creamy avocados. It adds moisture which helps bind the guacamole into a cohesive spread. That said, guacamole is all about balance. So the recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of lime juice. Don't throw in an extra tablespoon. It throws off the balance. One game changer? Put whole limes in the freezer and use them within a couple of months. Just cut the frozen lime in half and let it thaw for a few minutes, then squeeze as usual.
- Cilantro Oh, the power of fresh herbs! Our house guacamole calls for an entire cup of fresh cilantro. I do recommend weighing it versus just measuring it in a cup. Again, it's all about balance since what I pack into a measuring cup may differ from what you pack into a measuring cup. And besides, who needs measuring cups?!
- Salt Always! But not too much, just enough ...
My Guacamole: Unusually Low Cal.
I didn't set out to make a really good low-cal guacamole, just good guacamole. But all that tomato, onion and cilantro make a difference. My Guacamole has about half the calories as other guacamole recipes.
For Weight Watchers, it's just one point (Freestyle, green, blue and purple) for a quarter cup.
That makes it especially useful for tacos and alongside breakfast eggs and even avocado toast, ways to enjoy guacamole that don't use all those addictive chips as scoops!
How to Ripen Avocados.
The trickiest thing about good guacamole is timing the avocados for ripeness. For this recipe, you want ripe but not soft avocados.
Most of our avocados come from Sam's Club, a bag lasts two or three weeks. (And for the record, I have little luck with Trader Joe's avocados.) Here's how.
- Keep the avocados on the counter. On the first day, give one a press, it's likely to feel hard. Do a test press once or twice a day until there's a slight softness, a slight give.
- Move the avocados to the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. In the cold, they'll continue to soften and ripen but very slowly.
- When you're ready to use an avocado, it should be perfect.
To ripen avocados overnight? One restaurant owner I know wraps avocados in newspaper to accelerate the ripening process.
Avocados: Guacamole & Beyond
And once you have ripe avocados, so many good ways to use them, here are some favorites!
- Green Smoothies
- Smitten Kitchen's Avocado-Cucumber Salad
- Mexican Chicken Salad
- Roasted Salmon with Garden Hash & Creamy Avocado Sauce
- And now, finally? The brand-new house guacamole, My Guacamole!
- My collection of Avocado Recipes
What Makes My Guacamole Recipe Special?
- It's bright and colorful, a very pretty bowl!
- It's low in calories, about half the calories in other recipes.
- It delivers consistently good, restaurant-style results. Thank you, recipe precision!
- The onion and jalapeno are very finely chopped to flavor but not overwhelm the whole batch.
- No garlic!
- You too can be famous, here's your recipe!
My Guacamole
Time-to-table: 20 minutes
Makes 3-1/2 cups
- 2 large (scant 1 pound/425g) avocados, ripe but not soft, cubed to yield about 300g
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-1/2 cups (200g) finely chopped Roma tomato
- 1 cup (125g) very finely chopped white onion
- 1 cup (20g) finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped jalapeño or poblano
Cut up and collect the avocado in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lime juice and salt, stir once or twice, just enough to distribute the salt and lime juice.
Add the remaining ingredients. With a large spatula, stir aggressively (though not so much as to mash) so the avocados form a sort of sauce that binds the guacamole.
Serve immediately with chips. We love the corn scoops from Trader Joe's, also the plank tortilla chips. Sorry, I don't remember their exact names but they're shown in the photos.
MAKE-AHEAD TIPS Guacamole is best served straight away though for a party or gathering, make it up to a couple of hours in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve. That said, it's also easy to do most of the prep work up to 8 hours ahead of time, everything except the avocados, then add the avocados just before serving.
LEFTOVER GUACAMOLE Ha! Is there ever such a thing? But if there is, then know that it won't look as pretty the next day but will still be good tucked into quesadillas or tacos and so on.
Good guacamole is all about balance. For consistently good guacamole, do measure the ingredients, including with a kitchen scale if you have one. But I've learned the hard way not to just toss in an extra tablespoon of lime juice or to skimp on the onion. I've experimented with chopping the tomato, onion and cilantro in a food processor. Sorry, it's just too much machine for the job. Instead, sharpen your knife and just get to it, the chopping doesn't take long. The tomato should be diced to about 3/8" in size, plus or minus. A serrated tomato knife is a huge help, worth a small investment. The onion and jalapeño should be minced as small as you can manage. I do some times skip the jalapeño.
WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 1 & SmartPoints 1 & Freestyle 1 & myWW green 1 & blue 1 & purple 1 Seasonal Cooking: This Same Week, Across the Years
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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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2020
My first time to make guacamole! Worked great, had to make a second batch at halftime,
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