Timing and texture are the secrets to a great guacamole! There is certainly no shortage of guacamole recipes- in fact, the California Avocado Growers website lists no less than 27! There's is doubtless no wrong way to make this Mexican avocado "sauce"; sauce because, according to Simply Recipes, "the name [guacamole] is derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce)". Well, no wrong way, that is, unless your avocados are over ripe, in which case the texture of your "mole" will be mushy and the taste can even be a bit bitter, or, the avocados are under ripe; if so they will be too hard to get out of their skins and cut into chunks. The finger and thumb test is the way to go, gentle pressure with these two digits should leave a perfect thumbrint in the fruit (yes, its a fruit!). Your luck with picking the best-tasting avocados (and the least costly) is definitely going to be better in the late Spring to Summer and early Fall.
Did I say "cut into chunks"?! Every recipe I looked at called for "mashing" your avocados. At Tres Senoritas Gourmet, we serve up a chunky "guac" that is made exactly the way I was taught by Doña Luisa, an octogenarian from Tenango de Valle, Estado de Mexico. Its is really simple, and more cut up than mashed. I have found a great tool for speeding up the process: an avocado slicer and pitter, available at Bed, Bath and Beyond for under $10. Instead of scooping out the avocado, just use this handy gadget to deftly remove the pit, then turn it and scoop and slice in one fell swoop. Let all the avocado slices accumulate in a large bowl and use a potatoes masher to partially mash the avocado slices. The resulting texture should be about half 1/4" or so chunky pieces and half mashed avocodos. Add a tablespoon of finely minced onions for each 4 medium avocados, 2 good sized, firm tomatoes, diced, and 1/4 teaspoon or so on finely minced serrano chiles, depending upon how "hot" you want your guacamole, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro (see my salsa de mango y pepino recipe for hints on chopping cilantro and chiles) and kosher salt to taste. Carefully mix all your ingredients, taking care not to further mash to avocados. here's wehre the timing comes in....Let your guacamole sit refrigerated for at least an hour and half, but no more than 4 hours. Leave a couple of the avocado seeds in the mix to help maintain the green color.
Does this mean that the restaurant trend of making guacamole tableside makes a lesser guacamole? You bet it does! Avocados are bland, so the chiles, cilantro, onions and salt need to to steep, to create the flavor you are looking for.
By the way, the bad rap that avocados get for being high in fat is relatively undeserved. This because, yes, at 29 grams of fat, they certainly are higher than other fruit, but way lower than many other party snacks, like, let's say, brie, which has a whopping 100 grams of fat in just a cubic inch square, or smoked salmon, which has 85 grams to a 3 oz. piece. Plus, its really good for you, with over 20 vitamins and minerals. And as fat goes, its the good kind. So make a great guacamole part of your next party which can even be more authentically Mexican when you prepare your own homemade chips (see Using leftovers a la Mexicana: Part I tortillas), just serve it as a side dish when you serve milanesa or carne asada (see Add a little chile to your BBQ...). Or even better, get creative with a guacamole tasting: add mango to one, chipolte to another in place of the jalepeños!
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