Craig and I had this guacamole when we were in Costa Rica. We were dining on daiquiris and tacos on the beach, listening to a fellow playing acoustic renditions of pop and rock songs and getting to know our new friends Jennifer and Grant a bit better (fellow Canadians who were staying next to us). Anyhow, we ordered some chips and guacamole as a starter, and oh my. I very quickly made the decision to have guacamole for dinner that night. It was a great decision.
Now, up until then, I’d never realized how good guacamole could be. Don’t get me wrong—I knew avocados were fantastic, but my previous guacamole experiences had been so generally lackluster that I’d never gone out of my way to sample new kinds. Now the opposite may be true—this experience was so transcendent I’m afraid no other guac will live up to it.
Anyhow, after the first taste I knew I had to replicate it for my at-home having-guacamole-on-toast-for-dinner pleasure. I could see bits of tomato and red onion, and I could taste the garlic and lime. I was also very proud of my palette for distinguishing the mystery magic ingredient—smoke. I suppose that’s hardly surprising considering I have been training my taste buds for the detection of unexpected smokiness by adding smoked anything to practically everything I make for the last year, but all the same, I was pretty pleased with myself.
I chose smoked hot paprika for my smoky addition, but you could use some smoked sea salt if that’s all you’ve got. The final guac is divine. Rich and creamy, a wee bit tangy, pleasantly salty, and just a hint of smokiness that isn’t so much smokey as just flat-out addictive, adding a note of “what’s that/give me MORE NOW” to the whole experience. I think you’ll love it.
Addictive Guacamole
3–4 ripe avocados, mashed
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp minced green onion or red onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp lime juice
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powderMask everything together in a bowl. Cover with clingfilm, pressing it down to the surface of the guac to help keep it from changing colour too much. Let it sit in the fridge overnight to re-hydrate the sundried tomatoes and infuse every bit of the guac with delicious flavour.
To serve, well, just try your best not to eat it all at once.
Guacamole is my absolute favourite dip, and I love many a dip. But I agree, only CERTAIN guacamole hits the spot… I also add smoked paprika to mine and would never go back. What ISN’T it good on? Don’t answer that 😛 It’s also great with a bit of fresh chopped parsley/cilantro, as well as a dash of cumin (or chili powder, though with the smoked paprika I usually omit this). I also use an entire lime (including the zest!) because I love my guac to be niiiiice and limey. YUM! I’ve never added sundried tomato, but I usually add a bit of drained chopped tomato or salsa in a pinch. I’ll try that for sure next time! It also just so happens that I have a pile of avocados that I got on sale, so I foresee guacamole in my near future…
At this point I honestly can’t think of anything that smoked paprika wouldn’t be good on, but I’m also ravenous! I just took a calzone filled with smoked paprika spiked ricotta out of the oven as well 🙂
This is a must try! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Dawn 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you very much… I am amazed the methods of eating guac. Haha! I know the goodness of guac but we Asian not very familiar ways of eating it…I will try to find the ingredients you proposed..unique!!
I just cut n eat them and making chocolate guacamole juice. Blend the guac, mix with chocolate bottle drink …. If prefer a think drink, less liquid of chocolate.. Very common, right?
Ha! I never would have thought to drink avocado and chocolate together—how creative!
I loved “smoked” flavor. I throw a few pecan twigs in the smoker and put my cooked meat, peppers, etc. in for just a few minutes. I saw these on Rachael Ray, they even smoke their vodka
http://www.amazon.com/PolyScience-Smoking-Portable-Food-Smoker/dp/B0082DNCHU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402185567&sr=8-2&keywords=smoke+machine+for+cooking
Oooh, yum! I would love to have a smoker to play with for a couple months, I think I’d probably start smoking anything and everything I could get my hands on… ok, I know I would 😛
sounds divine. I have had guacamole all kinds of different ways, smokey will be my next way! Have you ever tried thick kefir in it? I tried it one time, instead of adding sour cream, and I found it kept the avocado from turning brown. It has a tang to it so it was terrific since I also didn’t have lime. Thanks for another great recipe
Oooh, I haven’t! I’ve never tried adding sour cream either, for that matter. Off to the store I go for more avocados I suppose 😉
Hello Marie, even using plastic I find my guac still gets brown. Try this! Smooth down the guac with a spoon in bowl with a matching lid. Carefully cover the guac with about 1/2 inch of water. When you are ready to eat it pour off the water and stir it up. No brown and the guacamole tastes as good as fresh!
Oooh, the water is a great idea—that would work perfectly! I’ll be sure to try it next time 🙂
Sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to try ape smokey flavours. Just a tip: if you leave a few avocado pita in the guac it won’t turn color. 🙂
Let me know how you enjoy it 🙂 My research and experience tells me the only place the pit works is where it directly protects the guac from the air, so I think you might find you get better results from something with more surface area 😉