It’s been two years now since my freshmen year, and what a two years it’s been. Many things have changed, but one thing has remained a constant throughout my time in college — all of my closest friends have asked me for my guacamole recipe at one point or another.
In two years from now, we’ll all be out in the real world living totally different lives than the ones we live today. I’ve definitely had my fair share of memories in college, but there’s one in particular that always comes back to me when I think about my time in Austin. On Sunday nights in the spring of freshmen year, my friends and I would pile on to my cheap couch to watch our favorite show (Hint: This recipe was almost titled “Guac of Thrones”). Absolute silence was demanded with the exception of one thing — the crunch of a blue tortilla chip loaded with guacamole meeting its final destination, our mouths.
As for the recipe itself, it is a result of many trial and error sessions with my friends. I’ve tried different types of tomatoes, using different fruits instead of mangos, orange juice, and many other secret ingredients. In all, I’ve probably tried over 30 different variations of this recipe, but this variation is the champion of them all. I’ve never shared it publicly, but my hope is that it finds its way onto your coffee table surrounded by the ones you love and care about the same way it did for me.
Enjoy!
LIST OF INGREDIENTS
makes enough for 5 hungry college freshmen.
prep time: 30 minutes
IN THE KITCHEN
- 3-4 avocados, pitted and peeled
- 2/3 cup mango, skinned and diced
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced (toss out the juicy center)
- 1/3 cup of cilantro ( I usually put more… but that’s because I love cilantro.)
- 1/3 cup of red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (Don’t. Touch. Eyes.)
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely chopped (or mintzed… see what I did there Phoebe?)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon salt (not tablespoon… I’ve made that mistake several times… Erin I’m looking at you.)
AT THE STORE / WHAT TO BUY
- 3-4 avocados (depending on how big they are… and get ’em relatively soft)
- 1 red mango (it should be kind of squishy.)
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 red onion
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 lime
- salt
- don’t forget tortilla chips! If they have lightly salted, that’s your best option.
INSTRUCTIONS
- pit and peel avocados.
- mash avocados to desired consistency in a large bowl.
- skin and dice mango and add 2/3 cup into bowl.
- dice roma tomatoes, tossing out the juicy center. Add to bowl.
- finely chop 1/3 cup of cilantro and add to bowl.
- dice 1/3 cup of red onion and add to bowl.
- seed and finely chop 1 jalapeño and add to bowl.
- finely chop or mince 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic and add to bowl.
- juice 1 lime and add to bowl.
- add 1 teaspoon of salt to bowl.
- mix ingredients thoroughly with a spoon.
- optional/recommended: chill for 1 hour before serving.
- serve in a bowl with tortilla chips.