I have been making this guacamole for years and I usually make a double or triple batch for summer parties. I love the look on a person’s face when they taste it for the first time. I know some people think that guacamole is avocados mixed with a spice packet from the grocery store but I’m a purist so I don’t believe in any powdered mixes in my guacamole. I saw a cooking show about 10 years ago with a guy from Mexico mixing this up and I scribbled the instructions onto a piece of paper that I still have. It’s crumpled and stained by now, which is how you know it’s well loved.

The Best Guacamole Ever

Serves 4-6 (or 2 if you’re feeling particularly indulgent, ha ha!)

Ingredients

• Handful of fresh, diced cilantro
• 1-2 tbsp fresh diced jalapeno
• 2-4 tbsp diced onion
• 1/2 tsp salt (the larger the grain, the better)
• 2 gloriously ripe avocados (Here is the avocado buying guide that I originally linked to in my Black Bean Corn Avocado Salad. If the store doesn’t have perfectly ripe avocados, you’re not making guacamole today. Trust me on this one.)
• 1/4 c fresh tomato, but scoop out the seeds and gooey parts first. You want only the outside flesh. Otherwise, everything will be too watery.

How to:

1. Dice the cilantro and put it in a medium bowl.
2. Dice the jalapeno and onion into teeny tiny diced pieces, no larger than about 1/8 inch cube and add to the bowl. You don’t want to scare anyone with a big chunk of jalapeno!
3. Add the salt to the bowl and mash all of these ingredients together. The salt is abrasive enough that it will really bring the oils and aromatics out of the ingredients. If you have a mortar and pestle, that’s awesome. If you have a cocktail muddler, that’s great. If you have a spoon, that’s what I use because I don’t have room in my kitchen for every gadget under the sun. One day…
4. Add your avocados to the bowl and mash everything together with a potato masher. I love my blender and my food processor, but I don’t think they belong in a guacamole recipe. Some people may like ultra smooth guacamole, but I prefer it a bit chunky.
5. Your diced tomato can be slightly larger than the other veggies but please remember to scoop out the seeds! Stir this in at the end. No need to smash because you don’t want to bruise the tomato.

Enjoy being the hit of the party! That is, if you make it out of your house without eating this first.