What you need:
Avocados (2, large), Yellow Onion (baseball sized- just over half), Roma Tomatoes (2), Garlic (2-3 cloves, depending on size), Cilantro (about a third or a half of a bunch), Jalapeno (1, seeds and ribs removed), Lime juice (1 ½ limes),Salt (about a teaspoon of good sea salt), Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Fresh Ground Prickly Ash, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper.
The fixins for guacamole
You will also need:
A VERY sharp, thin-bladed knife (Asian Style Vegetable Knife), A Chef’s or (European) Vegetable Knife, A Table Knife, Cutting Board, 2 Large Bowls, 2-3 Clean Kitchen Towels
You will want:
Rubber Gloves, Good Music
A word about the Asian-Style Vegetable Knife (A.-S. V. K.).. I bought the knife I use at an Asian grocery store. It was made in Thailand, and cost about three dollars and some change. The blade is about the thickness of a manila envelope, and it takes an edge like a razor. It has become my favorite knife for preparing vegetables, especially onions, as the razor-sharp edge and super-narrow blade profile make for tear-free onion slicing. There are some chemical reasons for why this is, but the short story is that with a narrow, sharp blade you don’t get a lot of onion juice floating in the air. The point I’m trying to make- I really recommend getting a super-cheap A.-S. V. K..
Now a word about guacamole.. Guacamole is, for all practical purposes a pico de gallo with the addition of avocado. If you can make a good pico, you can make a good guac, and vice-versa. Pico de gallo falls into the realm of “salsa cruda”, or uncooked sauce. As both pico and guacamole fall into the realm of “uncooked sauce” it is not only important that things be kept clean, but that the greatest care be given to the ingredients. As a chef, all that you can do when making preparations of this type is to care for the ingredients as much as you can. This is another reason to invest four bucks in one of those A.-S. V. K.s, as they are not likely to bruise veggies along the sides of your cut.
Step 1- make sure you have everything on hand and ready. Spending twenty minutes looking for those rubber gloves can really mess up your rhythm and make you lose steam.
Step 2- Onion- Before cutting the onion, go ahead and get the skin off; this way, skin won’t get driven into the flesh of the onion when you do cut it. Dice the onion very finely- the first cut is the most important- the slice should be thin enough that the slices come out nice and translucent. Cross-cut these thin slices closely to get good, clean bits. About a half cup or so total is what you’re after. Add these to a bowl.
It's important to slice the first slice of a fine dice as thin as possible- note how the knife blade can be seen through the onion slice..
Step 3- Garlic- Much like the onion, the first cut is the most important. The first cut should leave slices that hardly exist- I try to shoot for thinner than paper. If I didn’t have an A.-S. V. K., I’d suggest that you use a razor blade, like in that last bit of “Goodfellas”; that was probably the best “how-to” video for the proper way to treat garlic ever made. Do this to three cloves of garlic, unless they are big, then just use two cloves. These flakes can be cut down in halves or thirds. Add the garlic to the onion- no need to mix yet.
Slice the garlic as thin as humanly possible.. If you are wondering if you even got a slice, you are in the zone..
Step 4- Tomatoes- Wash these first, then, like the onion these should be diced finely- start with thin slices and cut crosswise to dice. Add the tomato bits and any juice that can be retained to the onions and garlic.
I like to make a flat side by cutting off the top, and taking thin filets from the sides.
Step 5- Jalapenos- This is what the gloves are for. I have found that as I have gotten older that my skin is more susceptible to burning from spicy peppers. As a result I now wear gloves whenever I handle spicy stuff. Once the gloves are on, wash the pepper (and the gloves). Cut the pepper in half lengthwise and remove all the seeds and what ribs can be pulled out. Then, slice the jalapeno into super-thin strips, removing and disposing of the strips that have ribs on them (this cuts down on the jalapeno’s heat). Cut the strips into tiny little cubes and toss them on into the rest of the stuff.
Never handle spicy peppers without gloves. That heat feels nice when it is incorporated into a meal, not when it just stings your hands for six hours or so..
The strips to the right have the ribs attached. These will be disposed of. The strips to the left...
...are diced finely and added in with the garlic, tomatoes and onion.
Step 6- Cilantro- This is easily the most time consuming step in the guacamole. Take about half or a third of a bunch of cilantro and put it in the other large bowl. Wash the heck out of the cilantro, and leave it in the bowl of water as you pull it out to prep. Remove the leaves from the stems (this is what takes so long) and place them on a clean towel when you have the leaves separated from the stems, dry them off and slice them finely (slice- don’t just press down with the knife- that will bruise the leaves). Add the cilantro to the other stuff, then dispose of the stems.
It's a bit of work seperating the leaves from the stems, but the end result is a lot nicer than a mix of leaf and stem-hunks. I think the flavor is cleaner with the stems removed too..
Step 7- Avocado- Slice lengthwise around the circumference with the European style knife and twist into halves, remove pits. Cut the avocado into small pieces with the table knife while it is in the skin (this makes cleanup easier). Add the avocado to the mix.
The clean way to dice an avocado.
After a few more cuts the avocado is ready to add to the mix.
Then add the juice from a lime and a half, a few twists of fresh ground black pepper, several twists of prickly ash, scatter the salt evenly across the top, add a good dash of cayenne and cumin, then mix well to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. Now comes the hardest part of all.. Cover that bowl with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for at least two hours. This is really important. Just because guacamole isn’t cooked doesn’t mean that it is done right away- a lot of good things happen when the acids from the lime and tomato mix with the fats from the avocado, and this is not a process that can be rushed. Also, don’t skip the salt to try to be healthy. The salt helps to make the flavors mingle by pulling moisture out of the veggies (this also takes time).
Once this sits for a couple of hours it will be good to go.. Not that it isn't good now- it just gets better and better for about a day or so..
