Avocado Dreamin'

Avocados have followed me throughout my life, or perhaps I have followed them. After spending their entire lives in the St. Louis area, my parents, with youthful abandon, decided to pick themselves and little six-month-old April up and flee the Midwest to settle in sunny California amongst shining stars of L.A., the citrus trees, the smog, and the avocados. It was there that my family embraced, no obsessed over, California’s take on Mexican cuisine. To this day, you would be wise not to get my mom started on the topic of the “real” way to make a Chile Relleno. It is a debate you will not win and will walk away from feeling abashed. Avocados were everywhere in my California youth; growing in my neighbor’s backyard, starring in simple guacamoles in pig shaped molcajetes at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant, and sliced and scooped up with fresh made flour tortillas at my babysitter’s house just down Golden Street. When my family moved back to the Midwest when I was in 4th grade, it was that Cal-Mex flavor we would seek like the grail, rarely to much avail. Just starting out as a young actor in New York City, I was thrilled to get my first gig. . .as a hostess and later server at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. If a dish of Bobby’s didn’t have chipotle it had avocado in it; who am I kidding, it usually had both. Now, as a chef, avocados are one of my go to ingredients.

There is something so complete about the avocado. Few foods feel so decadent and so enriching at the same time. Avocados are high in vitamins B, E, and K and have more potassium than bananas. Although they do have high fat content for a fruit, most of that fat is monounsaturated and they are packed with more fiber than any other fruit. Avocados can take a simple salad of romaine, tomatoes, and red onion and make it a rich and satisfying meal. Normally, I would never mess with the perfect balance of something like the BLT, but add a little sliced avocado and perfection becomes ambrosia. Avocados are such an amazing ingredient because they can not only scrumptiously heighten the everyday but are also sublime with little to no finagling.

The epitome of that simple lusciousness shines in guacamole. In fact, my golden rule of guacamole creation is the simpler the better. Adding sour cream, salsa, cream cheese, or any other such nonsense will only serve to distract from the perfection of the avocado. On the flip side, certain additions like cilantro, lime juice, and salt will actual serve to bring out the flavor of the naturally mild avocado. The crunch and bite of onion (in moderation) makes the silken flesh of the avocado feel even more sensuous.

Guacamole can be a very personal thing. Some will argue that it is just plain offensive to not include jalapeños in the recipe. Personally, I don’t want to mask the avocados brilliance with heat. Some may wonder, if guacamole is good why not add other good things like corn and black beans and make it even better? I say if I’m making guacamole, I want to eat avocados, no distractions, no masking, and no adding. Truthfully it feels a little uncomfortable to call the following a recipe. I didn’t create its deliciousness, nature did. I just mashed it up a little and put it in a bowl.

Guacamole

Makes 1 ½ cups of dip

2 ripe Haas Avocados*

½ cup yellow onion chopped fine

1/3 c fresh lime juice

½ c fresh cilantro, chopped

Kosher Salt

Mix avocado and lime juice, mashing avocado with a fork until slightly creamy but not completely smooth. Stir in onion and cilantro. Season with salt to taste. Note, salt really brings out the flavor of the avocado and is an important ingredient in guacamole.

*Avocados oxidize and turn brown very quickly, the lime juice will slow the process, but serve guacamole as immediately as possible.