Guacamole Bar

If you live in the U.S, today is National Guacamole Day.  It’s no coincidence that it falls on the same day as Mexican Independence Day.  And I don’t know about you, but I’ll take any excuse to eat guacamole.

I’ve been throwing around the idea of a guacamole bar ever since I had fantastic guacamole with a choice of add-ins at Mexican cooking god Rick Bayless’s Tortas Frontera while on a layover in O’Hare Airport.  Although honestly, this base recipe for the guacamole is so good that you don’t really need any of the add-ins.

Here’s a quick tip for safe and easy removal of avocado pits, since these suckers can be stuck pretty securely and can be a little slippery.  Cut the avocado in half and twist the two halves apart.  The seed should be stuck in one half.  Place that half of the avocado in the palm of your non dominant hand, cupping your hand to secure it.  Take a sharp knife in your dominant hand and quickly but firmly tap the base of the blade near the center of the seed.  Twist your wrists toward each other, and the seed should stick to the blade.  To remove the seed from the blade, put the knife blade between your thumb and index finger, with the sharp part of the knife facing away from your palm.  Pinch your fingers together at the point where the seed is stuck to the knife.  Do NOT attempt to pull the seed off the blade with the sharp side of the blade facing your hand.  One slip on the seed and you could slice your hand!  Now you can just scoop the avocado out of the skin with a spoon.

Basic Guacamole Recipe
serves 3-4 as an appetizer
This is my version of a basic guacamole recipe.  You may like more or less garlic, onion, jalapeno, etc.  I suggest starting with the smaller amounts and adding more to your personal taste.

2 avocados, seeded, skinned and mashed until creamy (some lumps are ok!)
2 – 3 cloves garlic (to taste), minced
1/4 – 1/2 small red onion (to taste), finely chopped
1/2 – 1 jalapeno (to taste), seeded and finely chopped
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 T fresh lime juice (about half of a lime’s worth of juice)
Pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Adjust flavors to your own taste.

For the guacamole bar, we had a bowl with the basic guacamole recipe and another with chips in it.  Our add-ins were crispy bacon, pomegranate seeds, toasted pepitas, hot sauce, and cheese (I wanted to use queso fresco or cotija but couldn’t find it.  So we settled for feta, and it was just fine once you add it to the guac).  What else would you add (other than margaritas)?

My finished dish is on the left, with bacon, pepitas, pom seeds and cheese.  My husband’s is on the right.  He was less enthusiastic about the add-ins, and only used bacon and cheese.  After the first small dish, he abandoned the add-ins entirely and just ate the basic guac with chips.