Mexican Guacamole

Much of what passes for Guacamole nowadays is far from the authentic Mexican one. In Mexico this delicious concoction (no, I'm not making words up, "Guaca" means concoction in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs- a bit of food history doesn't kill anyone does it?) is dolloped onto steak and chicken, added to Fajitas and Quesadillas or spread on a sandwich instead of mayonnaise. 

Here's how to make it authentically Mexican: the most important thing is to forget you own a blender or food processor, real guacamole bears almost no relationship to the mashed gooey stuff that shows up way too often in some restaurants. The real thing should be chunky with a burst of rich avocado flavor and a hint of bite.

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados (I use Hass avocados)
• ½ medium white or red onion, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic chopped fine
• 1 fresh Serrano chile, seeded and minced fine (you can use jalapeño peppers too)
• 2 Tbls. fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
• ½ tsp. salt (more or less to taste)

Directions:

1. Put the onion, garlic, cilantro and serrano pepper into a molcajete (mexican stone mortar) or a large bowl and mash together with a pestle or the back of a large spoon until the juices mix and begin to forma paste.
2. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon into the bowl. Mix well but avoid mashing it to much, the mixture should be a bit chunky.
3. Gently stir in the tomatoes, lime juice and salt to taste. 
4. Mix carefully and serve with some tortilla chips.

Tip : Avocado discolors quickly on contact with air. To prevent this you can mix up the first ingredients a few hours in advance if you like and wait to add the avocado just before serving or you can leave the seed of the avocado in the bowl, this slows discoloration a bit.