I like my guacamole with cilantro
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It always surprises me that cilantro is a controversial herb. So many people dislike it. I just think it’s fantastic! I love the smell and its ability to make me crave Mexican food. This is not a cooking blog, but let me tell you, I make great guacamole. It’s simply a fact. Whenever I make it for parties, I’m always asked for the recipe. Of course, my answer is always the same- there really isn’t a recipe. It’s about straight-forward, fresh ingredients. Your guacamole or pico de gallo is only as good as its ingredients. And, for me, cilantro is key for both.
You can easily pick up cilantro at the grocery store, and it’s not very expensive (relative to the insane price of other fresh herbs). But, often it’s wilting, and you really don’t need huge quantities to make a batch of salsa or guacamole. I love having it my garden so I can snip just enough for what I’m making. I used to have a hard time growing cilantro, but that was because I always bought starter plants at the garden store. A few summers ago, I tried growing it by seed, and haven’t gone back. Cilantro can be a finicky little herb to grow because it seems to be in a hurry to go to seed, particularly when it’s hot. For this reason, you need to cut it back pretty frequently. This just means that you need to make lots of salsa in the summer months! (I also love it as garnish for tacos, mixed in with salads, and in marinades.) However, I have also found that this herb will self-seed, so let it go to seed at the end of the summer and you probably won’t have to plant it the following year.
Here is a picture of the starts of my cute cilantro plants, probably just a few weeks out from that first batch of guacamole.
And, in case you are dying to know my guacamole recipe, here it is- proportioned from memory:
Simple Guacamole
- 4 ripe Hass avocados (good luck finding the perfect avocados, can be a real pain in the ass!)
- 1-2 Roma tomatoes (depends on size and how much tomato you like), small dice
- Sweet onion (walla walla or vidalia) – 1/2 cup, small dice
- 1 Lime, juiced
- Cilantro- 1/4 cup, chopped (some people have a preference to use just the leaves and no stems- I’m not too concerned about this)
- Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cut avocados in half; remove pit. Scoop out the avocado from its peel, into a bowl. Roughly mash with a spoon (or go for the mortar and pestle), add lime juice, tomato, onion, and cilantro. Add kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste. (I know some people hate the term, “to taste”, but it really does apply here.) Anyhow, this is super basic- play with it!
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