My brother Jonah is a fantastic cook. You can find him in the kitchen at all hours experimenting with new flavors and recipe ideas — in fact, every year for his birthday he asks for a new frying pan or chef’s knife. Since his employment in the kitchens of Junction and Prime 109, his skillset has grown immensely. His growth as a cook was clearly evident when he cooked dinner for me and my friends a few nights ago. Everything he made was delicious, but the guacamole was gone in the blink of an eye. I love this guacamole recipe because of its simple fresh ingredients. There is also plenty of room to customize and make this recipe your own.
Jonah’s recipe should make enough guacamole for three people — or one very hungry one.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
3 avocados
1/2 red onion
2 tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 lime
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper
His recipe doesn’t call for any unconventional ingredients, but the difference is all in his style.
1. Begin by mashing three ripe avocados with a fork. Make sure you use a large enough bowl that you can mix the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Finely dice or “brunoise” half of a raw red onion. The brunoise cut leaves you with small dices, about 1/8th of an inch wide. This ensures the onion flavor is not too overwhelming with every bite.
3. Chop two tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. The seeds can make the guacamole too watery and don’t add much in terms of flavor. Once the seeds are removed, dice the tomatoes into ¼-inch cubes.
4. Now for the most exciting part — the jalapenos. You need two jalapeño peppers and a gas flame or blowtorch. Take the peppers and blacken them with the flame until they become slightly soft. Remove the charred outside of the pepper and the seeds. Charring the jalapenos takes some of the heat out of the peppers, as does removing the seeds. Once the seeds are out and the char layer is removed, dice the jalapenos into ¼-inch cubes.
5. Take the juice of one lime and add it to the avocado mixture. You can add more or less lime, but I find this works well with just one. I like to roll the limes before I slice them to make juicing easier. Also, make sure to juice the limes into a separate bowl so no seeds end up in your dip.
6. Finely chop a handful of cilantro — this can be to taste or personal preference, but cilantro adds a nice bit of color and fresh herbiness to the creamy avocado.
7. Combine all the ingredients in your large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you stir in any salt and pepper you add thoroughly before adding more as to not overwhelm the veggies.
This guacamole is delicious with tortilla chips or on top of some rice and beans. Sometimes if I have leftover guacamole in the morning, I’ll spread it on a piece of toast and top it with a fried egg.
For any spice lovers out there, this guacamole can easily be modified to kick up the heat. Instead of charring your jalapeños and removing the seeds, just dice fresh jalapeños and add them as is — seeds and all. You could also use a few extra peppers depending on how spicy you want your dip.
For a more savory guacamole, Jonah recommends adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil and swapping the red onion out for a green onion. You can also add more salt and lime juice to take the flavor up a notch.
This recipe is sure to impress any friends or guests with its full and fresh flavor and beautiful colors. The preparation process is surprisingly easy, and you’ll feel like a professional in no time. I hope you try and enjoy this family-favorite guacamole recipe!
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