[title subtitle=”WORDS: Catherine Frederick
IMAGES: Jeromy Price”][/title]
Fresh salsas and summertime. They go together quite nicely, don’t you think? Tomatoes, peppers, onions and jalapeños, fresh from the garden. When combined, they’re hard to beat.
There are few dishes my family loves more than my guacamole, and a couple years ago I discovered a shortcut to making it. The shortcut is starting with a simple Pico de Gallo.
By making a batch of Pico first, your guacamole will come together much quicker. Also, by not crushing the peppers and onions in a molcajete (mortar and pestle), the flavor of each ingredient is allowed to stand alone – exploding with each bite, instead of simply permeating the entire avocado mixture.
While we love my traditional recipe (featured below), we eat it so often I started searching out other recipes, looking for a twist on tradition. What I discovered was nothing short of delicious. Smoky Mango Guacamole and Watermelon Pico. I put my spin on those recipes to meet our liking, and you can do the same. Who knew avocado and mango would pair well together? And Watermelon Pico – who thought of that? Who cares! I’m hooked, and I think you will be too.
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Catherine’s Guacamole
METHOD
Make Pico. Combine 5 large, ripe, but firm avocados, halved & pitted; 1/2 large white onion, chopped; 2 green onions, chopped; 4 Roma tomatoes diced into 1/4-inch pieces; 1 jalapeño minced (2 for more heat); juice of 2 limes; and 1 cup chopped cilantro in large bowl. Scoop out avocado onto plate. Using a fork, chop & lightly mash avocados. Add avocados to Pico mixture. Stir gently to combine. Add generous pinch of salt. Stir and taste. Add more salt & additional lime juice if needed. Serve with orange Mission chips.
