Easy & Tasty Guacamole

jwa and I both love Mexican food. We try to make some at home at least once a week or so (which reminds me that we are due Friday night)! I tend to make guacamole to go with the enchiladas or tacos or whatever else we’re having. Guacamole is one of those things that I never really liked while growing up — I think the first time I tried it was in college. I didn’t start making it until moving to Arizona. Now, living in Portland 10 years later, I want guacamole all the time! Here’s a pretty easy and tasty way to make it.

Guacamole
1 avocado
1 to 2 tbsp red onion, diced finely
1/2 to 1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced finely
1 small tomato, diced
the juice of half a lime
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced

I usually start by roasting the pepper. Just pop it down on a broiler-proof baking sheet and roast about 2 inches from the heat until it’s all blackened on every side. When done, put into a small plastic sandwich bag and let steam for a few minutes. Meanwhile, dice all the veggies. Cut avocado in half, remove pit and put both halves in a bowl. Add lime juice. Use a potato masher to break up. Add onion, tomato, cilantro, salt and garlic. Remove pepper from bag and peel off the blackened skin. Seed and dice. I usually add half of it and taste. Adjust salt, cilantro, jalapeno, lime and onion if needed. Serve with chips and enjoy!

This recipe is also very easy to double and triple and…whatever. I usually just stick to the juice of half a lime for each avocado I use and go from there. Also, the ingredient amounts are pretty flexible — I don’t actually measure the onion or cilantro in tablespoons. Those are just a guide for about how much of each item I put in.