Guacamole
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by catherine in Appetizers, Clean eating
In our house, we also call this lovely dip/spread/random snack, “Mexican Butter.” While this treat packs a hefty caloric punch, it also contains a lot of really good fats. And I’ve heard from the experts that we need good fats, as opposed to the delicious but nefarious fats found in steak, butter, etc.
On that note, I remember reading a story once where a woman traveled to Jamaica and observed the women there eat an entire avocado in one sitting. And these were slender, strong gals who ate this calorie-laden treat in abundance. This surprised the visitor, since she and most dieting women back in the states avoided this fruit like the plague. This made her think that these lovely Jamaicans were onto something. At that time, many of those Jamaican women had probably never seen the inside of a western fast food restaurant, or had a spongie yellow cream cake. This phenomenon does make a good case for eating a less processed, whole foods diet.
With all the fresh produce available at the store during these summer months, I like to make a really large batch to store in the freezer. Just scoop in freezer safe plastic baggies, squeeze the air out and store in the deep freezer. In the middle of a dreary winter, you will thank me.
Guacamole
makes approximately 3 cups when it’s all smooshed together
- 3 avocados, peeled, pitted, mashed up real good
- 3 Roma tomatoes, diced (I used regular tomatoes here since the Romas at the store looked pretty rough today)
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 T. white vinegar
- 2 large garlic cloves, run through a press or minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 handful cilantro, diced
Directions: place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir. Let sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator to let the flavors marinate. Then serve with whatever your little heart desires. I love guacamole spread thin on a chicken breast. Yummy yummy!
Ever wonder how to peel, pit, and mash an avocado? Check out this handy tutorial.
Additional notes: you may notice the vinegar and ask, “what the…?” Never fear, I put that in for a reason: to keep the avocados from browning too quickly.
[boring technical explanation alert: avocados eventually go brown because of a chemical process called “oxidation.” They may taste fine when this happens, but it sure looks unappetizing. Even I won’t eat brown guacamole and I should know better. By adding more acid (lime juice and/or vinegar), you can help slow this process down. You may want to experiment with the amount of lime juice/vinegar mix, since too much of either will give your guac a funny aftertaste. But now you know. And knowledge is, well, knowledge.]
One last comment and I’m done: even with the addition of lime juice/vinegar, this will still start to darken after a day or so. So you best eat this up (or store in the freezer) pronto!
Happy eating!
