The secret to the perfect Guacamole

2015-11-05
  • Servings : 4
  • Prep Time : 5m
  • Ready In : 10m

I love Guacamole and have eaten a zillion versions of it- the most tasteless being the ones you get in restaurants- a greenish pastelike guacamole, served in in tiny little containers, that tastes absolutely flat and has no zing in it.

I’ve always maintained that home-made guacamole was the best, I’ve been making guacamole for about 10 years now.

But man, was I blown away, when I went on holiday to North Carolina this year to visit my sister. She took me to a fantastic Mexican Restaurant called El Tapatio in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Photo of El Tapatio

The place is famous for their ‘ GuacamoleMade at your Table ‘ – and the Guacamole was absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s zingy fresh flavours  bring you alive.

And as with all American dishes- the portions are huge. Have you ever imagined that you need a big appetite if you’re going to order Guacamole? Well, think again.

The waiter arrived at the table, pushing a large trolley- our anticipation increased .. because now is when the secret is to be revealed- the secret to the best guacamole ever.

It’s not just in the ingredients- it’s also how it’s made and for that , you need a…

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Yes, you’re right- a Mortar and Pestle.

Don’t believe me?

I didn’t believe it either. But believe me when he left the fresh, flavourful Guacamole at our table in a really large bowl, we had demolished it in less than 10 minutes, attacking it with our tortilla chips, battling for huge scoops as we dipped in for our share. The funniest was my son, who refused to sit down. He liked it so much that he stood and ate and ate, claiming his fair share , which was nearly half the bowl. When we were finished, we had almost no appetite left for our mains, which we politely pecked at and the huge remainder was packed up for our dinner later in the day.

Since then, my son insists on making it himself in our new Judge Mortar & Pestle.

It is indeed the best Guacamole in the world, as he claims.

If he can, you certainly can.

Try it.

It’ll blow your socks off. Guaranteed!

Ingredients

  • Avocado- 2
  • Tomatoes- 3-4
  • Coriander, chopped- 3 tbsp
  • Fresh Garlic- 1 clove
  • Green chilli- 1
  • Lemon juice- 1 squeeze
  • Salt- to taste
  • Pepper- to taste

Ingredients

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Prep your vegetables.

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Start off by mashing the garlic in the mortar and pestle. This releases its really fresh flavours. Don’t be scared of using garlic, it doesn’t come across as too strong in the Guacamole. Add the chopped coriander. Mash again.

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Add the chilli and tomato. Mash and mix. Add in the salt and pepper. This helps release the juice from the tomato and helps the flavours mingle.

Now add in the large chunks of Avocado. At this stage , you can transfer it to a bowl, without mashing up everything gin the mortar and pestle. It just isn’t required. The correct thing to do is to put everything in a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice on top, give it a mix and serve straightaway. The acidic lemon juice helps break down the guacamole ultrafast , so you don’t really need to struggle with it. As you mix it, it mashes up very easily. But try telling that to an over eager 10 year old. Doesn’t work. Ever.

It just doesn’t.

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So we added it to the Mortar & Pestle, added in the lemon juice  and mashed just a bit more, just twice.

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This is what we got.

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And then we ate..

Guacamole

 

and ate… and ate… with everything on hand- carrot sticks, tortilla chips everything. Till the bowl was empty and licked clean.

Get your own Mortar & Pestle here:

 

 

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