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We are now just days away from that day which rivals Thanksgiving as few can in the annals of American gluttony: Super Bowl Sunday. Whether we're parked on a couch in front of our friend's new 60 inch plasma TV or watching the game at a sports bar that's stumbling distance from home, the food and drink often take precedence over the game itself - especially when our Bears aren't in it this year.
Chicagoist has been attending the same Super Bowl party for a number of years now, and we've become known to those who attend for one of our contributions to the vast spread. No proper Super Bowl smörgåsbord is complete without guacamole! Ours gets prepared by special request each Super Bowl Sunday morning. While we suspect most of you won't be attending the same party, that doesn't mean you won't be able to enjoy our guacamole. We'll share with you how we make a bowl so good it'll be devoured before kickoff.
We first must gather the ingredients. A trip to a Mexican grocery is your best bet to find all the ingredients you need -- and not go broke in the process. It's a good idea to go a couple days before making the guac because the typical choice of avocados is rock hard or mush. By shopping ahead, you can buy firm ones and allow them to ripen.
What You Need
6 avocados
1 large red onion or 2 smaller ones
2 Roma tomatoes
2-4 serrano peppers
garlic
cilantro
1 lime
kosher salt
ground pepper
After washing all the veggies, we first dice the tomatoes, carefully removing the seeds and pulp. Next, we dice the onion. To give the guac an even heat, we mince the fiery serranos pretty finely. We use our garlic press to mince the garlic, and chop up a good amount of cilantro.
Only now do we cut open the avocados, slicing around from top to bottom and pulling apart the halves. Remove the pit -- but important -- save at least a few of them! Added to the end result they help keep it from turning brown. Scoop the avocado flesh into a large bowl and mash with a fork into large chunks. We don't have set measurements for adding the rest of the ingredients -- we just eyeball it and adjust to taste and sight. We typically start with half of each ingredient and then adjust as necessary.
It's really all about personal preference anyway. We don't like the tomato to overpower the avocado, so we tend to go light on them. But we like a spicier dip, so we may add more of the serranos than you might. Some don't like cilantro, others do. That's one of the beauties of guacamole -- there's no one way to make it.
After adding the diced and minced ingredients, add salt and pepper to season and squeeze the juice of lime into the bowl. Mix to incorporate all of the ingredients while leaving nice chunks of avocado.
Add back in a couple of the pits and transfer into the serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the top of the guacamole until serving time. And don't be surprised when you're asked to bring your creamy, green concoction again next year!
Photo Courtesy of the Hass Avocado Board
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"especially when our Bears are in it this year."
Uh, did you copy and paste last year's entry?
Fry the serranos or chipotle chiles in a frying pan until aromatic to give it a roasted, smokey flavor.
Otherwise this is exactly how I make my Guacamole (was this a Bayless recipe?) and it is very delicious.
Also if a guac purist says that this is too much ingredients hand him an avocado and some salt and tell him to go to town.
how many does this serve, roughly?
This recipe is for a party sized bowl -- we're taking it to a party w/ 30-40 people but there will be lots of other food. Were it a lone appetizer for 3-4 people, we'd use 2 avocados and scale everything down accordingly.
thanks
That "pits keep it from turning brown" thing is a myth- the lime juice will do that on it's own. I prefer a little bit of cumin in there, and leave out the tomatoes- or better yet, use them to make some salsa to go alongside.
@matty:
Sounds like an awesome idea, thanks!
@benjy:
You forgot the lime juice in the list of ingredients.
And I like to scrape out the avocados and coat them in lime juice first, before anything else gets melded in, so they get the full benefit of the non-browning power of citrus.
I like to use lemon juice in my guacamole for a warmer, more rounded citrus note. And if you want to cut the heat of the serranos, remove the seeds. that's where the most heat is found.
spook, thanks! Now added to the ingredients list...
If you are lazy and live on the Northside you can pick up some guacamole at local grocer Harvestime Foods. I think it is pretty good and I love their wings. Here is their recipe, pretty much the same thing.
http://harvestimefoods.com/view/recipes
Try adding a little chili powder too. Gives it a little extra...Also, adding some diced cucumber makes it wicked tasty.