Recipes
Tasty and Traditional Guacamole
Do you love guacamole? How often do you make it yourself and what is your favourite tasty recipe? Have you ever made it the traditional way?
Guacamole can be made in many different ways. In this short, fun video I am sharing one of my tasty favourites in a traditional way, by making it in a molcajete.
Don’t worry if you don’t have one of these ancestral tools. You can easily make it in a large pestle and mortar, a bowl or a food processor. I’ve included methods for all of these below.
Guacamole
Guacamole is an avocado-based dip that originates from Mexico. The traditional way of making guacamole is in a molcajete, and as with many other traditional methods of making food, the molcajete is making a comeback. You don’t need one to make tasty guacamole but the pounding of ingredients with the tejolote is believed to help release oils that improves the flavour over and above simply chopping the ingredients.
At its most basic guacamole is a blend of avocado, lime juice, and salt. Beyond these core ingredients, recipes can be wide and varied with onion, garlic, jalapeño chilli, tomatoes and cilantro being common additions.
Avocados
The avocado is actually a fruit. More specifically it is a type of berry. There are many different varieties, the most popular of which is the Hass avocado. It has dark green rough skin and a really creamy flavour and texture.
In Costa Rica, I often enjoyed the local variety which is huge with bright green smooth skin. The taste however is not as creamy as the Hass, nor is the texture.
Avocados are highly nutritious and calorie-dense foods. They contain many great vitamins and minerals including antioxidants that are beneficial for eye and brain health. Surprising for a fruit they are rich in healthy fats which help you feel fuller for longer and support blood sugar management if you are insulin resistant.
Avocados are extremely versatile and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes. If you are following a plant-based diet they make a great replacement for dairy in creamy dishes.
When choosing an avocado for this recipe you want one that yields slightly when pressed.
Like apples, avocado flesh turns brown when exposed to oxygen. The addition of lime juice helps to slow down this reaction and many swear by keeping the stone in the guacamole once it has been prepared. As a result, you really need to use avocado soon after it has been cut or prepared in a dish like guacamole.
How To Make My Tasty and Traditional Guacamole
Feel free to make this tasty guacamole in a not so traditional way by using a bowl or a food processor.
Ingredients:
- 1 large or 2 small avocados
- ½ red onion
- ½ jalapeño chilli
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 bunch cilantro
- ½-1 tsp Salt
- Black pepper
- More lime juice, salt and pepper to taste
Method – Bowl:
- Finely chop the onion, chilli and cilantro
- Scoop the avocado out of its skin and put it in a bowl
- Mash the avocado to the consistency that you like
- Mix in half of the lime juice and all other ingredients
- Add more lime juice and seasoning to taste
Method – Food Processor:
As above but you can let the food processor do all of the chopping for you.
Method – Molcajete or Pestle & Mortar:
- Finely chop the onion, chilli and cilantro
- Add onion, cilantro, chilli and half of the lime juice to the molcajete
- Crush the ingredients with the tejolote into a paste. This helps release oils that improve the flavour over the fork in a bowl method
- Add the avocado flesh and pound to the consistency that you prefer. Some like it smoother, others prefer chunky
- Add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste
What is a Molcajete?
The molcajete and tejolote are Mexican versions of the pestle and mortar. They are stone tools used to grind food products.
Traditionally they are made out of a block of volcanic rock that is carved into a basin with three legs. Volcanic rock gives the molcajete a rougher grinding surface than a pestle and mortar due to the bubbles in the rock which makes them great for salsas and guacamole. Cheaper granite versions are left with a rough finish to try and emulate this.
The surface of a volcanic rock molcajete needs to be seasoned to get rid of any loose grit. This is achieved by grinding a handful of dry rice at a time into the surface until it stops turning grey from the stone. This may be taken a step further by grinding water with rice to make a paste. To finish the seasoning you grind garlic, chilli (Mexican of course) and salt into the surface. Traditionally once properly seasoned you would not use soap on a molcajete. Instead, they should just be rinsed out with water.
Unfortunately, I was unable to bring my volcanic rock molcajete and tejolote back from Costa Rica so for now I make do with a granite version. It is not the same so I will be making space for one in my luggage the next time I visit Mexico.
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