Original recipe of guacamole: the world’s most beloved dip

Time:         prep. 5 mins
Difficulty:  very easy
Yield:         2 servings
Cost:          low-medium

Let me introduce you to the favorite guest of all the parties and tables all over the world: guacamole!
Originally the first people in history to dip food in guacamole were the Aztecs, coining the not very creative name of “ahuaca-mulli”: literally “avocado sauce”.
As always history is written by the winners, in this case by the Spanish conquistadores, who renamed it with the current ‘guacamole’: derived from the Spanish-Mexican words “aguacate”=avocado and “mole”=salsa. And most likely the term will remain in gastronomic dictionaries for many more centuries to come, as Mexican Cuisine is on the prestigious list of the UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage from 2010.
Guacamole has a delicate taste that, however, by increasing the dosage of chilli and onion, is able to stand out even next to very dishes with strong character. Those who do not love guacamole cannot love avocado. And it would be a very pity not to be able to take advantage of its thousand and one benefits. I had the fortune to learn the original recipe of guacamole, from a friend who is originally from Mexico: “hola Betsy, thanks again”. We were aboard Yakamoz, in a remote bay of the magnificent Turkish coast and we had bought the avocado from the local market; the lime was obviously lacking but lemon was surely fine, Betsy’s words. Although the galley suffered a bit during the preparation, given the ‘mucho passion’ of an excellent but “non-seafarer” cook, the result was simply to lick your whiskers. Since that day I prepare guacamole with the method learned from my ‘teacher’ with great success and moreover in total autonomy, without using electric tools: all this in just 5 minutes. Let the party begin!

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1 tomato chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 tbsp of lime or lemon juice
1 garlic
black pepper, chilli, sea salt
some leaves of cilantro

Directions

Cut avocado vertically, pull out the seed; with a sharp knife make cuts in both halves, first longitudinal and then transversal direction, being careful not to pierce the skin and creating hundreds of mini dices: in this way making a puree will be much easier. Then remove the pulp with a spoon and put it in a large plate. The diced pulp will now be ready to be crushed with a fork; spray the lime or lemon to prevent the fruit from blackening. Cut the tomato and onions into small pieces. Add the grated or finely chopped garlic. Mix the ingredients well and add salt, pepper and chilli pepper at the last minute; garnish the sauce with coriander leaves. If you don’t like the taste of this Mexican spice you can omit it, use parsley instead. In case you want to enrich the sauce in view of an un-invited guest, and you find yourself without another avocado, I hope you have at least a cucumber and some yogurt in your fridge: it will not be the original recipe of guacamole but you will get an equally satisfying variant.

Additional advice

Guacamole dip would go well with any season and any dish. However, in order to be more sustainable with the world and with the main producer countries, we should give up buying its main ingredient, avocado, when it is not harvest time in our hemisphere. But as always, a trick to cheat the problem can be found, and often thanks to the knowledge: read the chapter dedicated to how to store them properly in the article “All about avocados“, you will discover the way to prolong the pleasure of dipping when you want, without compromising on ethics. Also, perhaps most importantly, reading the article you will understand their countless nutritional benefits

Smart combos

Following my instructions for the original recipe of guacamole, you will have a delicious sauce, to be served as an appetizer on classical corn tortillas, or on wholemeal bread bruschettas; for those who pays attention to the shape, I’d recommend instead dipping some crude vegetables like carrot, celery, fennel or cucumber: personally I like very much the pairing with slices of radish.
If you want to use it as a side dish, you will be spoilt for choice.
Of course, the original Aztec menu would have paired it with dishes of dog meat, duck and turkey, but also iguanas, ants, grasshoppers, shrimps and larvae. I don’t discuss such delicacies but… would you mind if we choose a vegetarian menu for the typical Aztec evening that we have in mind?
Then serve your guacamole with corn flatbread and beans in a thick tomato sauce, then sprinkle everything with a generous dose of chilli pepper and finally do not miss a dark chocolate drink with a pinch of chilli pepper and vanilla berries. With such a menu we would have revived a gastronomic culture worthy of note, with low carbon impact; a tasty and cruelty-free meal, which cost not a fortune, despite being able to provide us with all the macro and micro-nutrients: protein, complex carbohydrates, dietary fibers, essential fatty acids, vitamin C, iron, calcium, zinc and much more. Try and see.
Ah I was about to forget, guacamole normally does not advance, but in case this “miracle” happens now I tell you what you should do: to allow it to arrive still delicious the next day, you could add another tablespoon of lemon juice or lime to use their antioxidant effect. Otherwise, cover the guacamole with water (that you should remove before eating) to avoid contact with oxygen: in this way it could last up to 2 days (you can use also oil, instead of water, but since avocado has a high content of fat, you should better avoid putting more oil).
Important: never forget to cover the bowl hermetically using either a lid, if the bowl is equipped with one, or adopting a more environmental-friendly solution instead of disposable film, like silicone stretch lids.
Enjoy your meal and good revolution to all

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