Vegetarian Culinarian

Green Bay Guacamole

Can this be called a recipe? We love guacamole in New Mexico… I have been eating this since I was a child. One of my favorite snacks is a homemade griddled tortilla filled with smashed avocado and roasted green chile, sprinkled with sea salt. Yum! This recipe is dedicated to my brother in Colorado, who is at this moment decked out in Green Bay gear, whipping up good things in his kitchen, heart beating in anticipation of the upcoming game… Go Green Bay!

Start with the amounts given, then adjust accordingly to taste.

4-6 avocados, depending on size of avocado

1 – 2 tsp salt

1 – 2 jalapeños (more or less depending on how hot you can take it)

squeeze of juice from 1/2 a lime or lemon (this adds taste but also ensures your guacamole won’t turn brown, so don’t skip it!)

1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced.

To obtain avocado flesh, make an incision around the avocado long-wise (your incision will cut through the part where the stem was) through to the pit. Twist each half of the avocado in opposite directions in order to separate the halves. You should now have two little bowls of avocado. Scoop the flesh out of each with a spoon (after removing the pit from one) and mash (I like my guacamole chunky, so I don’t mash too much). Repeat with all avocados. Add the squeeze of lemon or lime juice, salt, and garlic. Mince the jalapeños (wearing gloves if you have them – if you don’t, be sure that you don’t rub your eyes or nose later on…) and then add them to the avocados. Taste, then adjust, adding more salt or jalapeños if necessary. If you’ve already added too much salt or too many jalapeños, add in another avocado.

The following recipes for Salsa Verde and Homemade Tortilla Chips are from Vegetarian Planet by Chef Didi Emmons. I absolutely love this resource, which includes whole food recipes for everything from Spelt Walnut Bread to Thai Tofu with Red Curry Sauce over Coconut Scallion Rice to Chocolate Blackout Pudding. I especially love that whole pages of informational sections are included, such as how to cook various grains and differences in taste, texture, and cooking times of various Chinese noodles.

Salsa Verde

2 quarts water

1 lb tomatillos, husked

3 large garlic cloves

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup lime juice (from 2 limes)

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 to 1 jalapeño pepper, minced [Note: I use 2]

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the husked tomatillos, boil for 3 minutes. Drain, and put into a blender or food processor.

2. Add remaining ingredients to the tomatillos. Blend or pulse for only a few seconds, leaving the salsa chunky. Store in a sealed container up to 4 days.

Makes 3 cups salsa.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Didi’s recipe calls for flour tortillas, however, corn tortillas are what we use in New Mexico…

Take a short stack of tortillas. Four tortillas will make 24 chips, so adjust accordingly.

Cut the stack in half, then cut each half into 3 wedges. Heat a large griddle over medium-high heat. Coat with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Lay the tortilla wedges on the griddle, salting generously, and let sit 5 minutes, adjusting the heat to ensure the tortillas don’t burn. Once they are golden, remove them and let them dry on paper towels.  Serve as soon as possible.

Photo Credits: Michal Marcol

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