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Time: 5 mins

A foolproof Guacamole recipe
Despite the familiarity of this dish, it seems to cause no end of confusion. But for perfect guacamole, there are just a few simple rules to follow. Namely, always use ripe avocados (don't even bother if they're not ripe, it won't work), and under no circumstances add any dairy - i see so many variations with cream cheese added and it's just not needed (and can actually mask the flavour of the avocado, which is the whole point of this dish!). The guacamole should be well seasoned, with a peppery garlic and chilli hit, and plenty of fresh lime juice. To get the best out of avocados, buy the 'ready to eat' ones (which never seem to be *quite* ripe enough anyway) and leave them to ripen in the fruit bowl, along with a couple of tomatoes you will be using for this. They're both warm-weather fruits, so don't put them in the fridge else they'll freak out and reward you with blandness as punishment. Make no longer than an hour before you're going to serve it, as the avocados will brown quite quickly (though in my experience it never gets the chance to hang around that long anyway!).

Posted by Chef Smee from London, United Kingdom • Published 27th September 2014 • See Chef Smee's 11 projects »

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Pamela J. favorited Perfect Guacamole 22 Jan 13:55
Suzi T. favorited Perfect Guacamole 09 Nov 16:49
KelliDroze added Perfect Guacamole to Food 29 Sep 00:34
Chef Smee published their project Perfect Guacamole 04 Jul 13:37

Step 1
First of all, peel, de-stone, and scoop out all the avocado flesh. Chop it loosely, add a large pinch of salt, and then mash it well in a medium sized bowl. Then stir in the crushed garlic, finely chopped red chilli and most of the lime juice. Mix well, and taste. Add more seasoning, chilli, garlic or lime juice as required.
Step 2
Once everything is very smooth, add the 'textures', in this case onions, coriander and (if you like) the tomatoes and Tobasco. I usually do add the tomatoes and Tobasco as it makes the Guacamole go a little further, and the chunky sweet/sour contrast is nice, but it's not essential. If you wish, you can garnish the dish with a sprinkling of chilli powder or smoked paprika. Serve immediately, with an ice cold beer or sangrita and lightly salted tortilla chips.