the Older Bolder Life Salad Sunday 18 November: Our House Guacamole

The Primal/Paleo crowd doesn’t need to be reminded that avocados happen to be one of those superfoods that not only support great health but just taste damn good.

Most avocado fans know that avocados are packed with Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamins C, B5, B6 and E, and offer a good dollop of potassium too, though their principle benefit is the 15 grams (on average) of monounsaturated fat, most of it the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (high in good olive oil too).

I recently shared about this recipe on Chi Wulff (a fly fishing blog) –

…my lovely wife has been something of a guacamole ninja since we enjoyed four years in San Antonio years ago during my graduate training; we learned to enjoy authentic TexMex and Mexican guacamoles and still have a batch 2 or 3 times a week to this day.

There are a lot of fancied up recipes for all sorts of up-town guacamoles out there today, and you probably have a family favorite, but what follows is Our House Guacamole recipe we’ve evolved over the years. While I’m working on the rest of dinner, ME can have a batch of this done, ready to savor, in under five minutes.

Being good Texicans, we consider a big bowl of guacamole to be an all purpose condiment (try it slathered over your steak or grilled chicken tonight), or a super-vegetable / all purpose side for any meal. (Some nights a double recipe of guacamole is dinner with a pile of crunchy crudite to dip)…

We don’t measure any ingredient when putting this together anymore; she just drops things in “until it looks right” – give this one a spin if you don’t have a house favorite yet…

2 large, ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, mashed with a fork
3 – 4 tsp fresh lime juice, maybe more to taste
1/2 small red onion, minced
2-4 tbsp finely chopped, seeded roma tomato
1 medium garlic clove, minced, then mashed with salt to a paste
1/2 – 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp good salt
Generous sprinkle of good paprika/smoked paprika

Consider adding
1-2 stemmed, seeded (membranes too) and diced serranos or jalapenos
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh of course)

Start by mashing the minced garlic clove with the salt (you’re making a paste), then combine the remainder of the ingredients and fold roughly wth a fork (we like some texture in ours). Don’t forget the peppers and cilantro either…

While it’s best uber-fresh, if not eating immediately, drop one of the avocado pits in the bowl, spritz with fresh lime juice, then cover tightly with plastic wrap, and throw in the fridge (no more than 2 hours!).

Sprinkle with the paprika before serving.

Enjoy.