Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
It's important to note they charge an extra $1.75 for the big glop of guac on top. Highway robbery!!
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Amazing just how much
mediocre guacamole there is out there. Hit the nicest Baja place in Oxnard (Cabo Restaurant, at 5 Points) for X-Lydia's birthday, and we had their made-at-table guac. It was okay... but it wasn't awesome. (Unlike their flan, which will blow your socks off.) They favor lemon juice. Maybe it needed more of it. I glommed the half lemon they were using after watching the waitress only get about half its juice out of it, and squeezed more juice into the batch they made.
Proper guac is NOT THAT HARD TO MAKE, God and Amster damn it. But it doesn't keep well once opened, and like sushi optimally should be eaten up within an hour or so after making, though a tight covering with Saran Wrap and a lot of lime juice help quite a bit.
1-2 Haas avocados, the lumpy darkskinned kind, not the smooth green ones, they don't mush (but a little of this diced into bits is entertaining)
1 lg clove garlic, minced
1 shallot or small onion, minced
1-2 tomatoes, cut in chunks
Jalapeņo or serrano pepper, to taste, minced
Juice of 1-2 limes
Salt to taste -- kosher, sea, or seasoned
Inexpensive if you can get the avocados cheap. The secret seems to be enough lime juice and enough salt. What makes a guac is piquancy and the brightness of the fresh veg in the unctuous background of the smushed avocado.
Halve, seed, and scoop out the 'cados with a large spoon, dropping their meat into a mixing bowl. Mash it up with a potato masher or two forks. I generally do both, getting it down to pretty fine with the masher (the bent wire kind is very good for this, no clogging at all) and finishing with the forks. Add the tomato chunks and the minced everything, stir in. Squeeze in at least the juice of one lime, toss in some salt. Seasoned salt can make an excellent subtle note, particularly if you're seasoning it yourself in your spice grinder: grind a spice, then bang in a dose of salt to clear out the residue. Save the salt, it's yummy. Taste test your guac; you will probably want more lime juice, perhaps even kick in some more minced fresh hot peppers. That's it. There's an awful lot of guac out there that isn't zingy enough; don't be afraid to throttle up. Most of what you put in there is packed with vitamins anyway.