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You know my inner food geek comes out now and then. I get curious about foods I eat and like to find out how they came to be. So when I made guacamole recently I wanted to learn more about it. Guacamole dates back to the time of the Aztecs.
The Aztec Indians were simple people who relied on what they could grow and hunt for food. In this ancient civilization, food, drinks, and dining were a part of the culture. Their diet was heavily plant-based because the Aztec Civilization flourished in Mexico due to a combination of climatic advantages and extensive farming expertise. This gave them one of the most varied cuisines in the ancient world.
It was easier for them to grow crops and live off the land rather than hunt and rely on animals. Meat was a luxury for the Aztecs and ordinary people ate it infrequently. Their food included rabbits, turkeys and, armadillos. Can you believe they even ate dogs?!?!
Don’t curse their name for eating dogs... they can also be accredited for the discovery of chocolate…
Aztec food was a rich combination of many foods that is still much a part of the Mexican diet today, and it has spread around the world.
Guacamole dates back all the way to the Aztecs in the 14th and 16th centuries. The Aztec’s low-fat diet relied heavily on the buttery fruit known as an avocado. They used a basalt mortar and pestle to mash-up ripe avocados with tomatoes, onions, hot peppers and, cilantro.
I recently revisited this guacamole recipe. I adapted it from Alton Brown‘s recipe. and did some tweaking to adjust it to our taste. This guacamole was some of the best I have ever made.
Whether you serve it smooth or chunky, this guacamole gets flavor from ground cumin and a little bit of heat from cayenne pepper. It’s flavorful, clean, and healthy.
Get those chips ready for dipping and let’s make guacamole!
Ingredients Needed
You can find a detailed listing in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Avocados
- Lime Juice
- Sea Salt
- Cumin
- Cayenne
- Red Onion
- Tomatoes
- Cilantro
- Garlic
How To Make Guacamole
Chop and Dice:
Peel and dice the onion finely, remember you don’t want to chomp on large chunks of onion; set aside.
Next, seed and dice the Roma tomatoes or quarter the cherry tomatoes; set aside.
Prepare the Avocados:
If you are not familiar with how to work with avocados, click the link for how to cut, peel, and slice avocados.
Place the cubes of avocado into a large bowl. Add the lime juice; toss to coat.
Make sure the avocado is coated well, this will keep it from oxidizing and turning brown.
Add salt, cumin, and cayenne to the avocado; stir well to incorporate, the more you stir, the more the avocado tends to break down. You can also mash some of the cubes with the back of the spoon to break them down to the texture you want.
We like our guacamole extra chunky, but if you like it smooth break out the potato masher to get the job done faster. After the avocados are the desired consistency, give it a taste to see if you need to add more salt; adjust as needed.
Combine:
Add the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and grate in the garlic into the bowl with the seasoned avocado. Gently fold in; combine well. Taste and season with salt again as necessary.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the guacamole sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Serve The Guacamole:
Serve with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks, crackers, or as an ingredient. There are endless possibilities!
We ate on this batch of guacamole for 3 days and it never oxidized and turned brown. Every day it was just as good as the first, if not better.
I’m putting this guac back into our Mexican rotation again. Yum!
Sharing over at Fiesta Friday! Come on over and join in on the fun!
Guacamole
Ingredients
- 3 Haas avocados halved, seeded peeled and cubed
- 1 lime juiced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ cup red onion finely diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced OR ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tablespoon + chopped cilantro
- 1 clove garlic grated
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion finely, remember you don’t want to chomp on large chunks of onion; set aside. Next, seed and dice the Roma tomatoes or quarter the cherry tomatoes; set aside.
- Place the cubes of avocado into a large bowl. Add the lime juice; toss to coat. Make sure the avocado is coated well, this will keep it from oxidizing and turning brown. Add salt, cumin, and cayenne to the avocado; stir well to incorporate, the more you stir, the more the avocado tends to break down. You can also mash some of the cubes with the back of the spoon to break them down to the texture you want. We like our guacamole extra chunky, but if you like it smooth break out the potato masher to get the job done faster. After the avocados are the desired consistency, give it a taste to see if you need to add more salt; adjust as needed.
- Add the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and grate in the garlic into the bowl with the seasoned avocado. Gently fold in; combine well. Taste and season with salt again as necessary.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the guacamole sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks, crackers or as an ingredient. There are endless possibilities!
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ll take the whole bowl please! There is never enough guacamole!
Come on up to The Mountain Kitchen and I will make some for ya!
There was a time when we just couldn’t do it, but we are over it!
Enjoyed reading about the origins of guacamole. Yours look delicious. Thanks for sharing it at the fiesta!
Glad you enjoyed it Ahila. Happy Fiesta Friday!
Guacamole is one of my favorite dips. It is dangerous for me as it is hard to stop eating it. I’m with David on the cilantro 🙂
Hi Judi! Not a cilantro fan either?!? I eat it like a cow eats grass…lol! Hope you have a great weekend!
Hi Judi!
I am a fan of guacamole so I Always like to check out other people’s versions.
I saw this on Fiesta Friday and had to click!
I loved the little history lesson too! That was fun!
Have a great weekend!
Michelle
Thanks for reading Michelle! Happy Fiesta Friday and have a good weekend.
Your guacamole looks so fresh! I love a good guacamole in the summer time, and I also enjoyed the history behind it!
Thanks Jenny. Hope you’ll try this recipe. Have a good weekend!
Your post was interesting, Debbie. I’ll try adding tomatoes to mine the next time I make guacamole.
Thanks Karen. I think you’ll like really like this recipe! ?
I am always intrigued by the origins of some foods too and loved the guac story! We love this stuff and I make mine a bit like yours. I’ve never used cayenne but that sounds like a very yummy idea. Mr. iron stomach would love that idea too.
Glad you liked the read. Those Aztecs invented everything…lol! The cayenne gives it a richer flavor with just a touch of back heat. You’ll love it!
Great history of one of my favorite dishes. Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday. Happy FF!
Thanks Quinn you are welcome! Happy FF!!
Lovely! I’ll take a whole huge dish of this please!!
Thanks, Elaine. You’re more than welcome to help yourself! ?