New England Guacamole

A friend of mine in New England gave me this basic recipe when I was a young man and I was only familiar with Southern Cooking. It is one of my "go-to" recipes that I use often. You will see other recipes for various Guacamoles (over time) on this blog. But I wanted to share this one as it is simple and delicious and very easy to make (well, with the exception of peeling the tomatoes).

 Let me give you a heads up on the peeling process. Blanch the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water and submerge the tomatoes in for just a minute or so – as soon as you see the skin look a bit wilted. Take them out and plunge them into ice water – this will stop them from cooking. The skin will come right off and leave you with a nice skinless tomato. Be careful not to keep them in the boiling water too long!

 This would be a great recipe that I could make for my Mom…but I am not sure if I could get her to eat it. She is southern and quite picky…but since she can't eat tomatoes with the skin on them, it would be easily incorporated. Maybe next time I am home, I will see if I can get her to eat it…Wish me Luck!

 New England Guacamole

1 – Medium Tomato, Peeled
1 – Ripe Haas Avocados
¼ Cup – Onion, Finely Chopped
2 Tbsp – Canned Chili Peppers, Chopped
1 ½ Tsp – White Vinegar
1 Tsp – Salt
¼ Tsp – Pepper

Crush the tomato with a potato masher. Slice avocados & crush into the mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least ½ hour prior to serving. When storing in the refrigerator, place plastic wrap (i.e. Saran) over container and make sure that the plastic is completely covering and touching the mixture. This will help it to keep the bright green color.

If you want to make more than this rends, just double or triple and it works quite nicely!

Ina’s Guacamole Salad

This is an ideal side dish for a cookout. I like to serve it with the Blue Cheese Burger's that were in the previous post. By doing so – you really don't need to dress up the burger other than some simple arugula and the special sauce that was also in the previous post. The Lime Zest really gives it a "zing"…everyone kept mentioning it and how much they loved it. I hope you do too!

Ina's Guacamole Salad

1 Pint - Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded & ½ inch diced
1 (15oz.) Can – Black Beans, rinsed & drained
½ Cup – Small Red Onion, diced
2 Tbsp – Jalapeno Pepper, seeded & minced (2 peppers)
½ Tsp – Lime Zest, freshly grated
¼ Cup – Lime Juice, freshly squeezed (2 Limes)
¼ Cup – Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 Tsp – Kosher Salt
½ Tsp – Fresh Ground Pepper
½ Tsp – Garlic, minced
¼ Tsp – Ground Cayenne Pepper
2 Ripe – Hass Avocados, seeded, peeled & ½ inch diced.

**To make a larger batch – I add an additional pint of Cherry Tomatoes and 1 Orange Bell Pepper, I also add a can of the spicy black beans and then just double all of the other ingredients.** 

Place the tomatoes, bell pepper(s), black beans, onion, jalapeno and lime zest in a large bowl.

Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss Well.

Just before ready to serve – fold the avocados into the salad. Serve at room-temperature.

***Also please note that when I am cutting the avocados - I make sure that there is lime juice on the cutting board and I douse them again as I am cutting them, to keep them nice and green.***