Guacamole - the Mexican green avocado dip

Guacamole, most of you probably have heard of it. And many will also know that it is originally a Mexican dish, and that avocados are a main ingredient. But what else is in it? And is it easy to make? We will answer these and many other questions later in the article. But we start as usual with the recipe for guacamole – the Mexican green avocado dip.

How to make the perfect Guacamole?

Guacamole is very easy to prepare. Basically it is about cutting and crushing. It is also a cold preparation, so you don't need to produce any heat in the kitchen. It is therefore an ideal appetizer or side dish for a hot summer day. Of course avocados are the main ingredient. But in addition to them cilantro, lime juice, (cherry) tomatoes, a shallot and a chili pepper are the basic ingredients in this version.

The preparations: cutting and chopping

Halve the avocados with a kitchen knife along the entire length, down to the pit. Then you turn the two avocado halves in opposite directions. This way you get two half avocado halves: one without a pit, and one with a pit. And also removing the pit is really very easy: chop into the pit with a large kitchen knife, and then give it a twist. Then the pit of half the avocado will come off. Now all we have to do is remove the pulp from the skin with a spoon.

Next we take care of the shallot. From this we remove the skin. We don't want those hard parts of the skin in our green dip. Then we cut the shallot very finely.

Then we prepare the red chili pepper. We remove the top, then cut it lengthwise. Then we remove the seeds. This is very important because it are mainly the seeds that set your mouth on fire. Finally, we also cut the two half chili peppers into fine pieces. Are you afraid that a whole pepper is too spicy for your taste buds? Then use only half a chili pepper, or leave it out completely. Are you braver about spicy? Then you can also mix two chili peppers under your guacamole.

Also red, but less spicy: the cherry tomatoes. First we cut them into four. Then we also cut those pieces very finely. Instead of cherry tomatoes you can also use a ripe plum tomato or similar.

And last but not least we have to chop the cilantro leaves. For this we first remove the leaves from the harder stems. We then cut them very finely. Not everyone likes cilantro. You can also replace it with parsley, or just omit it. But the unique taste of guacamole is created by the mixture of avocado, cilantro and lime juice. With supporting roles for the shallot, the red chili pepper and the cherry tomatoes.

And now mix everything into a guacamole - the Mexican green avocado dip

So, now all we have to do is put everything together in a bowl and crush it. I use a pestle like for making mashed potatoes. But you might as well use a fork is you only have a small quantity. Some people also use a blender for this. But I think that's a bit much violence for these tasty ingredients.

And now it is time to open a pack of tortilla chips. These Mexican chips are ideal for scooping up the guacamole. They also taste great with this green Mexican avocado dip.

How do you store guacamole?

It is of course best to serve the Mexican green avocado dip immediately. However, it is often easier to prepare it in advance. But then you have one problem: the green avocado oxidizes and starts to look a bit brownish. Fortunately, you can fix and avoid this. Cover the guacamole, the green Mexican avocado dip, with cling film right after you make it. This way you avoid a lot of air being available to oxidize the avocado. Then put it in the fridge. Now the top layer will always oxidize a bit and turn brown. That is why it is good to stir the guacamole again just before serving. This way it regains its fresh green color.

But what exactly is guacamole?

Guacamole is a Mexican avocado-based sauce. More specifically, it comes from the south of Mexico. And as you can guess, this is also a region where avocados have been growing historically for centuries. Literally translated from the original language it is also the sauce of the avocado. A classic in the regions where avocados originally come from. But for a long time it really was a delicacy for the rest of the world. In the meantime however, you can find this green Mexican dipping sauce everywhere in the world.

The first description of a kind of guacamole recipe can be found in a book from 1697: “a new voyage around the world”. The author, William Dampier, described a recipe of crushed avocados, lime juice and sugar.

Meanwhile, there are of course thousands of different versions of guacamole. Besides avocados, the classic ingredients are lime juice, tomatoes, onion, coriander and chili pepper. You will often also find garlic and/or jalapeno peppers in it.

There are even guacamole versions with mayonnaise, sour cream, basil or even peas. But then you are already far away from the original idea. And of the unique taste that avocados, lime juice and coriander create when combined together.

You can find more information about guacamole in the following articles:

More surprising.avocado

Avocados are very popular these days. And also readily available in supermarkets. Maturity may often still be a challenge. But nowadays many supermarkets sell avocados that you can use immediately. Here are some more tasty recipes with avocado:

More surprising.dip

Dips are great appetizers. They are easy to prepare and everybody will be happy tasting them. So here you will find some more surprising dips that you can serve along with this guacamole:

If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.