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Mexican cuisine is the birthplace of many culinary masterpieces, which every day more and more densely enter the modern life of people from all over the world. The classic recipe for guacamole with avocado is a unique combination of products that form a unique taste. The wide range of applications of this pasty snack makes it extremely popular and in demand.
How to make avocado guacamole
This appetizer is a thick, pasty sauce. The history of the dish goes back centuries, when the ancient Aztecs made this uncomplicated composition from avocado fruits. Despite the long development of Mexican culinary traditions, the ingredients required to prepare this snack have remained unchanged for centuries. The most important ingredients in guacamole are:
- avocado;
- lime;
- spice.
The most important ingredient in the classic guacamole sauce recipe is avocado. Due to its structure, the fruits of this fruit easily turn into a paste, which is further seasoned with various fillers. Due to its unique composition, avocado is not only extremely tasty, but also very useful for the body. The finished product is often considered a dish recognized by many experts in dietetics and nutrition.
Lime juice adds an extra flavor and aroma to the puree. Since avocado has a rather neutral flavor, lime juice completely changes the flavor palette of the appetizer. Some chefs trade lime for lemon, but this approach does not allow for the full authenticity of the dish.
As for spices, salt and hot pepper are traditionally added to guacamole. The salt is needed to bring out the brightness of the lime and balance the flavor of the dish. Red pepper adds a savory flavor so revered in Mexico. Moreover, in different countries, the set of spices may vary depending on the taste preferences of the population. For example, in Mexico, spicy notes prevail, while in the US and Europe, consumers prefer more salty options.
Currently, there are an incredible number of options for preparing this snack. In addition to the classic version, you can find recipes with the addition of onions, fresh herbs, garlic, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers. There are also more sophisticated cooking methods - chefs add shrimp meat and even red fish to guacamole. It is believed that the taste of a dish is difficult to spoil with such additives. Nevertheless, such experiments should be treated with caution.
In many countries, ingredients such as mayonnaise, sour cream or olive oil are often used to reduce the cost of production. Since avocado is a rather expensive product, manufacturers are in no hurry to provide a completely authentic version of the dish on store shelves. To get the full palette of flavors of your favorite snack, experts advise you to cook it yourself at home.
Classic Avocado Guacamole Sauce Recipe
To prepare the right Mexican appetizer, you need to be careful when choosing your ingredients.When buying an avocado, you should pay attention to its appearance - the skin of the fruit should be uniform and without external damage. When pressed, the fruit should be soft and firm. Limes should not be too dry. Their skin should be thin and free from signs of damage. To prepare the classic guacamole sauce with avocado and tomatoes, you will need:
- 2 avocados;
- 1 lime;
- 1 tomato;
- 1/2 red onion;
- 1 chili pepper;
- a small bunch of cilantro;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- salt.
The primary task for preparing an appetizer is considered to be the correct chopping of onions. It is necessary to chop it as small as possible in order to get the maximum juiciness of the finished dish. Experienced chefs advise first to chop the onion into half rings, and then chop it with a large knife.
Chop the garlic and chili pepper as hard as possible, then stir together. The resulting mixture is lightly sprinkled with salt to speed up the release of juice. Next, you need to press down the chili with garlic with the flat side of the knife to turn them into gruel. Finely chopped onion and chopped cilantro are added to them.
Remove the tough skin from the tomato. To do this, it is placed in boiling water for a couple of minutes. The peeled tomato is cut into slices, the seeds are removed from it. The remaining pulp must be cut into small cubes and added to the rest of the vegetables.
The avocado must be pitted. To get the pulp, you can either peel the skin off with a peeler or knife, or use a large spoon to remove it. The pulp is chopped with a fork until a homogeneous paste is obtained. The resulting gruel is transferred to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
Lime is cut in half and juice is squeezed out of it. The faster you add juice to an avocado, the faster oxidative processes in it will stop - thus the fruit mass will not change color. The whole mass is mixed until smooth. You can add a little salt if desired to balance the flavor of the finished dish.
What to eat guacamole with avocado
In Mexican cuisine, guacamole is considered a versatile dish. Although it can be consumed as a separate dish, it is traditionally prepared as an addition to other recipes. The delicious taste of the appetizer makes it easy to combine it with a variety of ingredients for real culinary delights.
Traditionally in Mexico, corn chips are served with this sauce. They scoop guacamole from filled bowls. In European countries, chips are often replaced with thin crunchy pita bread. Since they have almost the same structure, the combination of flavors turns out to be perfect. Alternatively, you can use the sauce as a spread on bread or a crunchy baguette.
Guacamole is widely used in Mexican cuisine. A prime example of its use is fajitos and burritos - dishes reminiscent of shawarma. Meat, vegetables and corn are wrapped in a flat cake. The ready-made sauce perfectly complements and reveals the flavor range of all ingredients. In addition to fajitos, avocado guacamole is positioned as one of the sauces in another Mexican dish - tacos.
A very good use case is to use avocado sauce as a pasta dressing. Its introduction to the pasta allows you to add unusual piquancy to it. In combination with additional meat fillers, the pasta turns into a gastronomic masterpiece.
Modern chefs skillfully combine this sauce with various meat and fish dishes. In many restaurants, you can find beef and chicken, accompanied by a portion of guacamole. It is also believed to go great with salmon and tuna.In addition, guacamole can be used in complex sauces, combining its flavor with other bright ingredients.
Calorie Avocado Guacamole Sauce
The calorie content of any compound dish varies greatly depending on the ingredients included in it. It can be increased by adding foods such as olive oil or fatty mayonnaise. It is believed that the calorie content of the classic avocado guacamole sauce per 100 g is 670 kcal. Such high rates are due to the excessively high fat content of avocado fruits. The nutritional value of such a dish per 100 g is:
- proteins - 7.1 g;
- fats - 62.6 g;
- carbohydrates - 27.5 g.
It should be noted that such indicators are typical only for the so-called pure guacamole with avocado and lime juice. Adding tomatoes and onions during cooking will significantly reduce such a high calorie content.
Terms and conditions of storage
It is believed that freshly made guacamole sauce can last up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. However, within a few hours after cooking, it begins to change its color towards darker shades. The loss of presentation is due to the oxidation of the avocado. There are several ways to create an airtight barrier to prevent this misunderstanding and prolong the shelf life of the product:
- Sour cream... The prepared sauce is placed in a bowl and leveled with a spoon. Lay out a layer of low-fat sour cream 0.5-1 cm thick on top. Sour cream must be leveled so that it completely covers the sauce. After that, the bowl is covered with plastic wrap - it should be close to the sour cream. Deprived of air flow, guacamole can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Water... The guacamole is cooked a little thicker and tamped tightly into a bowl. The sauce is spread with a spoon. The bowl is filled with water to the brim, and then wrapped in plastic wrap. This air barrier also allows the shelf life to be extended by several days.
Do not forget that you can always buy a finished product in a supermarket. Manufacturers often use various preservatives in their production that can extend the shelf life to very long ones. The choice is up to the consumer - to use homemade and natural sauce or to use a product containing a large amount of chemical compounds, but more unpretentious in compliance with storage conditions.
Conclusion
The classic recipe for guacamole with avocado is a gem of Mexican cuisine. This sauce is popular all over the world due to its unique spicy taste. Its widespread use in combination with other dishes makes it an essential part of modern cuisine.
