Mexicans use avocados as Irish people use butter: everywhere! Nothing screams more Mexican than a bowl of gorgeously vibrant guacamole. Known all over the world, it has featured on Mexican tables for centuries. Believed to be an Aztec dish, guacamole is a symbol of Mexican food. It's made with Avocados, which are a lovely fruit from a tree native to Central Mexico. They are rich in vitamin B, vitamin E and vitamin K and contain over 35 percent more potassium than bananas plus a higher content of fibre.
A good traditional guacamole is super fast to make. Made by mashing ripe avocados and adding some onions, tomatoes and chili to it. In the Northern parts of Mexico, we also add some pomegranate seeds to it or some other citrus fruits. It's delicious and nutritious!
Today's recipe goes a bit off the traditional path; inspired by a Guacamole Making Contest (yes, you heard right a guacamole making contest) held during the festival organised in November last year by the Mexican Embassy in Dublin, the contest was held among several Mexican Restaurants. Wordy winners were the guys from Pablo Picante who had an amazing guacamole on display. I thought that the idea of adding pineapple to the mix was inspired and although mine is not as good, it tastes lovely so you can try and make it until you have time to drop to one of Pablo Picante's locations and judge for yourself. Enjoy!
Cut open the avocados and scoop all the green fresh out into a good size bowl. Do not get rid of the stones as you will use them later!
Using a fork, mash the avocado flesh to a pulp. Add the chopped onion, the pineapple, the tomato and the lime juice and mix well. Drop the avocado stones back into the mix to delay the 'oxidation' of the dish.
Avocados flesh goes dark (oxidases) as soon as it comes in contact with the air. To delay this from happening, we Mexicans have a few tricks down our sleeves: like in this recipe, we add a few drops of freshly squeezed lime juice. Make sure it's not too much as then the delicate flavour of the avocado is lost in the acidity of the lime. My grandma believed in leaving the avocado stones in it to cheat it thinking it was still on the skin so out of respect for her, I always leave them in! We also never salt a guacamole until we're about to serve it as the salt will speed the oxidation process.
Technically, your guacamole is ready now, but if you want to add an extra kick, heat the olive oil gently in a non-stick pan, add the strips of dried Ancho chili (I used the scissors to cut the chili into strips) and toss them around for about 1 minutes or until they go slightly darker and you start smelling the chili. Make sure not to heat htem too long or the chili will burn and taste rather sour. Mix them in guacamole and set aside a few for decoration. This will give your guacamole a lovely kick without much heat.
Your fruity guacamole is ready! Serve it with tortilla chips as a dip or add it as a side dish to your favour tacos or quesadillas. I love it as a sandwich filling too! HOpe you enjoy this unorthodox guacamole version!
