I live in the land of bread spreads (really, if it is spreadable...the Dutch will put it on their bread). I am still amazed by the great variety of spreads that you can find in the Dutch supermarket. Whether they can be considered healthy or not..well, that is another story. After a couple of years in the Netherlands, I couldn´t help but realise that my culture has given the world an amazing gift which could also be used as a spread (or as a dip or as a side dish...your choice, it is really maleable): guacamole!
Funnily enough, my husband had not tried avocado (and guacamole) before we met. It hurt my pride a little, so for the last 6 years he has seen more avocados than in all his lifetime (no complaints so far...he loves it, especially guacamole). Our son is now a renown guacamole fan. He started eating it ever since he was a baby (at the end of the recipe I explain the baby guacamole version). Every time he sees that his meal includes guacamole, he gets super excited!
This is more of a family recipe, therefore, there is no link to a specific webpage. My family cannot stand spicy things (I know..what kind of Mexicans are we?); so our guacamole has always been suitable for children. So yeah...this is an original Mexican guacamole recipe. I added the "spread" as a hint in case you like spreads on your bread (it is really tasty, trust me).
Guacamole
Ideal for: breakfast/lunch/snack
Servings: this recipe will give you one small bowl of guacamole (around 175 gr). The amount of servings will depend on each person.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Total preparation time: 10 minutes (max)
Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 diced tomato
2-3 teaspoons diced onion (it is a matter of taste, so it is up to you how much you add. If your child is not into onions, you can skip it)
3 teaspoons finely chopped coriander (or cilantro in Spanish)
1-2 teaspoons lime juice (it is a matter of taste, so it is up to you how much you add)
To season (but can also go without if your child is young): pinch of salt and pepper.
Instructions:
Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit.
Remove the avocado flesh from both halves and set it in a bowl.
Mash the avocado flesh.
Add the diced tomato, onion and coriander and mix with the mashed avocado.
Add the lime juice and mix.
Season with salt and paper (we also sometimes use a little garlic powder).
Tips:
Don´t know how to tell if the avocado is ripe? I found this short film that can help you:
I know it can be quite a challenge to find good avocados in the Netherlands (especially in the winter). If you cannot find ripe avocados, you can choose an unripe one, cover it in newspaper and place it next to some bananas. After a couple of days it will ripen (but you need to check daily if your avocado is ready).
It is best to eat the guacamole immediatly after you prepare it. After a couple of hours, the guacamole will brown. While adding the lime juice and covering the guacamole slow the browning process, if you make it and decide to eat it on the next day...it won´t look pretty (the taste will still be good, though).
You can spread the guacamole on bread or on a corn tortilla or tostada (for the tostadas, you can put some tortillas in the oven)
Baby version: when my son was a baby we would just mash the avocado and add some tomato
Enjoy!
Luz
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