(Guacamole Ahumado)
This rustic guacamole, popular in Mexico City and throughout central Mexico, is made with mashed charred fresh chiles, garlic, and onion, adding a layer of rich smoky flavor to the avocado.
Smoky Guacamole (Guacamole Ahumado)
Cook’s Note: Some versions of guacamole ahumado are made with just roasted chiles and salt.
Ingredients
- 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, or more to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, not peeled
- 1 (1⁄2-inch-thick) slice white onion
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and upper stems
- 3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and flesh scooped out
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler, with the rack 2 to 3 inches from the heat source. Put the chile, garlic cloves, and onion slice on a baking sheet lined with foil and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, turning the vegetables halfway through, until charred on all sides. Alternatively, you can toast the vegetables on a comal or large skillet over medium heat, turning them every 3 to 4 minutes, until blackened. Remove from the heat.
- When they are cool enough to handle, peel the garlic cloves and cut the stem from the chile. Coarsely chop the chile, garlic, and onion. Place in a molcajete or bowl, add the lime juice and salt, and mash and mix with a pestle, fork, or wooden spoon until pasty. Add the cilantro and avocados and mash together until the mixture has reached the desired consistency (some people prefer a chunkier guacamole, others like it smooth). Taste for salt and serve.
Notes
Excerpted from PATI JINICH TREASURES OF THE MEXICAN TABLE: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets © 2021 by Pati Jinich. Photography © 2021 by Angie Mosier. Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.