Tomatillo Guacamole

I find tomatillos to be intriguing. Little rather hard green balls that seem to be flavor hand grenades. Here’s a very simple recipe that exploints that power. Often when we make guacamole, there a serious number of ingredients: tomato, chopped onion, cilantrol, some cumin perhaps.

Here is just the opposite, a mimimlist recipe that does not use either onion or cilantro. Yes, there is a ¼ teaspoon of cayenne but, seriously, could you taste the difference between ¼ teaspoon and ½ or even 0? Actually recipe creator Daphne Brogdon can tell the difference and, on her video, says that just that pinch of cayenne adds some elevating punch to the recipe. The lime juice is less for flavor than to keep the avoacados from browning, so do add it to the mix.

Because the tomatillos are merely chopped and not cooked in any way, this is a guacamole that can be assembled in seconds. Give this simple version a spin in your kitchen. You can taste test and actually put in that cayenne or some cumin or even that cilantro if you must. But for variation and variety, this basic guac should be just fine.

Pair it, of course, with a margarita. The bite of the tomatillos will be well complemented by the dark smokiness of an aged tequla.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

5 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lime
2 tomatillos, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preparation:

Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits and scoop the flesh into a bowl using a spoon. With a potato masher or fork, lightly mash the avocados until mashed but still chunky. Add the lime juice, tomatillos and cayenne, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix gently. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tomatillo Guacamole