Ditto this. Or avocado with my fresh salsa which is diced tomato, red onion, garlic and lime juice. (No jalapeno or that evil weed cilantro.) Kosher salt, maybe a dash of black pepper.
I’ve never tried cumin, but I might. Just to see.
I like using fresh jals. You get more jalapeno taste and heat, but none of the vinegar.
And if you get in a pinch and can’t find good avocados, use Wholly Guacamole. It really doesn’t need to be doctored up, but you could.
Raw, of course! Pickled ones are pretty much useful for nachos and snacking, but as far as I know, aren’t really used in dishes like guacamole. They’d be too vinegary, I think.
Jalapenos have a distinct bell-pepper taste underneath the heat; if you’ve had one of those low-heat jalapenos, they taste very much like a bell pepper. Serranos don’t taste like a bell pepper- they taste more like other peppers and aren’t quite as distinctive.
If I had to guess at proportions, I’d say 3-4 avocados to a chopped medium white onion, 1-2 serranos or jalapenos (seeded, placenta removed, finely minced), 1 chopped tomato (3/8" pieces), probably 1/2-1/3 cup worth of cilantro leaves (measured then chopped) 2 limes worth of juice, probably a good tablespoon of minced garlic, and salt to taste, but probably no less than a full teaspoonfull.
All this.
Adding oil, mayo (which is oil!) or cream, no matter how sour, is just wrong in every way, but mostly because avocados are the highest fat non-nut, non-meat food on earth. (Or damn near: what is the fat content of olives?)
Anyway, someone said that you can’t make good guac frombad avocados, and that is the truth. You must have good quality avocados in the correct state of ripeness.
To which you add:
[ul]
[li]Salt[/li][li]lime juice -not gobs, enough to stop oxidation and add a little bit of flavor and sharpness. Lemon may be substituted, but really, lime is preferred.[/li][li]super-fine diced onion, preferably red or scallions rather than brown. But FINE dice.[/li][li]crushed fresh garlic; powder only as a last resort[/li][/ul]
That gives you an excellent guacamole which enhances the flavor of the delicious avocados.
I politely but firmly dissent from what appears to be a majority view that tomatoes should be involved, either fresh or as salsa. No. Never. Salsa is salsa and guacamole is guacamole. Tomatoes belong in the salsa.
The only other thing that may be added is cilantro, but make sure that you don’t have one of those genetic freaks in the crowd who perceives the wonderful herb as tasting like soap.
I further dissent from whomever said that it should be allowed to sit in the fridge or otherwise “marinate”. The finest guacamole is ultra-fresh, combined moments before eating. I have no idea why this is, since most foods are better when allowed to combine and mellow and marinate together, guacamole is a rare exception. The longer it sits, the worse it gets, the flavors just sort of flatten out, particularly the flavor of teh avocados, which disappears altogether, making it a goopy paste of lime and onion. And the texture falls apart, even without tomatoes but always with. So to impress guests, prepare just before serving.
One of my college roommates had a guacamole recipe involving fried bacon. I thought she was nuts but, sure enough, years later, I find a Rick Bayless recipe for bacon guacamole.
My mother-in-law uses comino more than any seasoning except salt. It’s great in guacamole as long as you go really easy on the lime/lemon juice. That means it turns brown much faster than the citrus-heavy versions, but it’s damn yummy.
Go read Rick Bayless… his guacamole recipes call for tomatoes, or in one case, tomatillos.
Maybe it’s a regional thing. I know that here in Texas, good guacamole is usually chunky, has tomatoes, and nothing’s that finely diced. It’s not huge chunks, but I’d say that maybe 3/8" square is normal for onions and tomatoes and cilantro. Garlic is usually finely minced, or powdered. Peppers are usually pretty finely minced as well.
It’s a regional thing. I hew to Texas-style, like I was taught at my mama’s apron strings. Tomatoes are required.
Guys guys guys…this is all a matter of personal preference. The thought of cumin in my guac makes me want to retch - but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sing from the heavens for some! Every guac I’ve had from a native Spanish speaker has had tomatoes. That doesn’t mean it’s a requirement. Many people have told me they like my guac better than XYZ joint, the local run-by-real-Mexicans place, which may not be unique south of the Mason Dixon but here in Pittsburgh it is. They like my guac because of the sour cream and because I often don’t use cilantro because I have soap-tasting friends.
Some people say cider vinegar in deviled eggs is heresy. Chefguy recommended it in our last deviled eggs thread and people went WILD over it this past weekend when I did it (our waif of a hostess gobbled 3 before setting them down and then later snuck 2 in her fridge).
Avocado, salt, lemon or lime juice (whatever is handy), sour cream if I have it, and cumin are the necessaries for me. But I don’t say no to avocado smashed up with anything unless it’s actually poisonous, because dude- it’s avocado! Gimme!
Re: tomatoes, I abhor chunks of tomatoes in my guac. The salsa I use is very specific. It can only be the red fresh salsa from El Famous Burrito on North Clark St in Chicago. Theirs is a smooth fresh tomato salsa with chunks of onion, jalapeno in small dice and lots of cilantro. This is used mostly for the liquidity it brings to bind the guac along with the bit of bite from the onion. Too much onion is bad, I just want a hint.
In addition, their chips made in house are to DIE FOR. Their tacos are just passable for taquerias, nothing special at all. Their chips and salsa are works of genius and wont make guac without them and its the only salsa I will buy.