How I went from a strong dislike of avocados to an amazing dip by adding a lot of good stuff! The proof is in the guacamole.
Yeah, I know that's not the phrase, but I already know pudding is good! It didn't need to be proved. I had to prove guacamole could be good!
As I got older and my palate got better I started to wonder about guacamole. Seems like a lot people love it. They charge extra for it in restaurants so that meant it had to be good, right? I eat all kinds of weird stuff: fois gras, oysters on the half-shell, escargot, caviar, sweetbreads, and more! I’ve always said I’ll try anything twice! As a culinarian and foodie I thought I should give it another try. I thought about what was in “good” guacamole besides the avocados: garlic, onion, tomatoes, lime, cilantro, jalapeños. I like all that stuff. I like all that stuff, a lot! Why don’t I like guacamole? So being a chef and liking to challenge myself, in addition to trying to impress a woman I was dating at the time, I decided to make some the way I would eat it. So I got the ingredients and set to work. I mashed up some nice, ripe avocados and then added a bunch of minced garlic and tasted. Well, that’s a bit better. Still kind of bland, maybe some salt and pepper. Yup, that’s a lot better. But still boring. OK, now some diced red onion and diced tomatoes. I’m starting to dig this. Needs some heat, a chopped jalapeño. Yeah, now we’re working with something. Squeeze a couple limes in and a bunch of fresh, chopped cilantro. Yeah! Now adjust the seasonings and I was good to go!
So why did I like this? I still don’t find avocados all that interesting. But I starting thinking about what the avocado is actually doing. It is carrying the flavors of all the other things I like. Fat carries flavor very well. Sometimes too well. If you’ve ever left unwrapped butter in the fridge with a cut onion for a little while, you know what I mean! So could it be that the best use of an avocado is a vehicle for carrying other flavors? I think that may be the case, for me anyway.
So? Are you a fan of guacamole? My favorite application is on steak fajitas or with a bowl of chips. What do you put it on? What’s something that a lot of people love that you don’t like? Maybe it’s time to try a new recipe yourself!
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