Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone. My ancestors may not be from Mexico, but I definitely enjoy celebrating their heritage, especially their food. Outside of my family’s Italian recipes, probably my next favorite recipes to learn are Mexican.

Just a few weeks ago I shared my Taco Soup recipe over at Romance Cooks. This post also included my magic recipe for Taco seasoning. It’s good on anything. I’m serious, lol.

I also regularly make salsa, tortillas, Mexican rice, and burritos, but today I want to talk about one of my all time favorite things, Guacamole. The avocado is high in fat, but it’s mostly the monounsaturated kind. Score!

Today’s recipe is my Naked Guacamole. From this state, you can add anything you want, cilantro, lime, tomatoes, peppers and even shredded chicken, fish, your shell fish of choice… Pretty much anything added to this simple recipe will be good, especially a tortilla chip. However, naked guacamole is kind of perfect just as it is. Aw. 🙂

The key to great Guacamole is perfectly ripe avocados that yield to moderate pressure when squeezed. Here are several tips to help you make this happen:

Tip: I suggest buying firm avocados days before you plan on using them. Letting them finish ripening on your counter is the best way to know you don’t have over ripe fruit.

Tip: The key is under the little brown stem on the end of the avocado, peel it away and if the fruit is green you’ve got a winner. If it’s turned dark, it’s overripe.

Tip: If your avocado is still firm the night before you intend use it, put it in a brown paper bag or next to a bunch of bananas. Both options will speed up the ripening process. If your avocado yields to moderate pressure the day before you intend to use it, stick it in the frig. This can buy you an extra day and stop the fruit from getting overripe.

Tip: Here’s a great video that shows several different ways to peal an avocado

SJ’s Naked Guacamole:

• 2 perfectly ripe avocados, pealed, de-seeded, and mashed
• 1/4 cup finally diced onions (red onions are the sweetest option I’d recommend, next is white, and finally yellow- any of these will be great)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pinch of salt

Mix it all together and eat it. This naked version does not go brown quickly, but I still encourage you to make sure it’s all eaten the day you make it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!