Guacamole!

Everyone has their own way of making it. Some people use lemon juice, some people use lime juice. Pureed smooth or chunky. With or without onion, tomato, jalapeno, mango, garlic, cumin or cilantro. And yes, some people put mayonnaise in their guacamole. The guy who ran the deli counter at my corner market whipped his secret guacamole (secret because you had to live in the neighborhood for years before he’d let you know about the batch he’d make on Saturdays), with sour cream and when you raved about how good it was, he’d say, “South American guacamole. Better than all other guacamole.”

I recently asked my readers how they made their guacamole so we could have a little fun in the weeks leading up to one of the biggest snacking day of the year, the Super Bowl. It was going to be Super Bowl Guacamole Week, but then I received more than a week’s worth of recipes and it blew up into an extravaganza of avocados!

Today, a rich mango plays against the undercurrent of serrano peppers in this wonderful guacamole from my old friend, Alyse. She’s been doing design work for the web since you first discovered Compuserve, had the music from Legend of Zelda played on violin during her wedding, and hosts one the largest collections of Kelly Slater fandom you’ve ever seen. And oh yeah, she along with the rest of her Lego building team were recently featured on i09 and CNN for their epic 22,000 piece Battle of Isengard which recently took first place at BrickCon. In other words, she’s pretty damn cool.

I’ve known Alyse for going on thirteen years now, which means I’ve seen her bring this guacamole to more barbeques, movie nights and parties than I can count. People always ask for her guacamole — high-praise in a city where every Angeleno has their own strong opinions on what makes a good guac, and it’s usually one of the first dips gone from the table. I was really excited she sent this in right away when my call for guacamole recipes went out as I had always wondered what went into it.

The creaminess of the avocado hits you first, then the sweet mango, onion and garlic and then there it is. The heat of the serrano pepper, which has you reaching for another chip immediately.

Just one change to Alyse’s original recipe. Mangoes this time of year are not always the ripest and there is nothing I hate more than woody, fibrous, hard mango. None of the ones in the store looked any good, so after talking it over with Alyse, we agreed I’d try it out with frozen mango instead, but working to get rid of any excess moisture as not to end up with with a watery dip. Since a typical mango is a pound, but you figure once you remove the skin and the seeds it’s probably lost about 1/3-1/2 of its weight, and frozen mango is generally sold in one pound bags, I decided to use one bag for each two mangoes called for in the recipe.

Take it away, Alyse!

Alyse’s Mango Serrano Guacamole

Here’s my attempt at writing down my guacamole, if you want to try it out. I honestly am not sure if I captured everything but I hope it works. I usually just wing it, like if I forget lemon, I only use lime or vice versa but I prefer to use both. And if mangos aren’t in season, I use tomatoes instead. If I don’t have fresh garlic, I’ll use garlic salt but that’s only when I’m desperate.

4-6 avocados
3-4 mangos (substitute white onions, cucumber, tomatoes, small bay shrimp, etc…)
2-3 serrano chiles
1 bunch of cilantro
1 purple onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1 lime
1 lemon
olive oil
pepper to taste

(Cook’s note: As previously discussed, I substituted frozen mango for fresh. After allowing it thaw for a few hours on a plate, I gave the mango pieces a whirl in a salad spinner to remove as much excess moisture as possible, then chopped the large chunks into smaller bits for better incorporation into the guacamole.)

De-seed the chiles and cut into large chunks. Use more chiles if you want more spice. The smaller the chile, the hotter it will be. Chop up a quarter or half of the onion into smaller pieces. Use more onion if you like the taste. Wash and clean half a bunch of the cilantro. Tear off most of the leaves. Some stems are fine but not the ends.

In a food processor, throw all of these together along with garlic and chop. Add drizzle of olive oil as these are combined as needed. It will almost become a paste but don’t over mix!

Half the avocados. If very ripe, spoon out into bowl and mash with fork. If perfectly ripe yet firm, cut into squares, then spoon out. Do not mash.

Roll then half a lime. Squeeze both halves into bowl and mix with spoon. Roll then half a lemon. Add half of lemon juice into bowl and mix.

Cut the mangos into squares and add to the bowl. Mix together.

Add the cilantro, chile, garlic, onion paste and mix together. Add drizzles of olive oil if needed to aid mixing.

Add lots of salt and pepper to taste. If you want more acid, add the second half of the lemon or add more lime juice, after tasting.

This guacamole, even in the cold of winter, makes me think of a summer day. The brightness of the mango really does pair well with meaty avocado.

Plus, since it has fruit in it you can say you’ve had a healthy Super Bowl treat (thus offsetting the extra grilled sausage you just ate).

You can follow Super Bowl Guacamole Extravaganza here for the next couple of weeks!

Your 360-interactive-all-media-guide for the Football Foodie and the 28 Days of Super Bowl recipes can be found here, so you can follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and our own new glorious galleries that can be found at the top of this very page.

4.0 from 2 reviews
Alyse's Mango Serrano Guacamole: Super Bowl Guacamole Extravaganza
Author: 
Recipe type: dip
Prep time: 
Total time: 
 
Bright mango and spicy serranos bring out the best in avocados in this great guacamole.
Ingredients
  • 4-6 avocados
  • 3-4 mangos (substitute white onions, cucumber, tomatoes, small bay shrimp, etc...)
  • 2-3 serrano chiles
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 1 purple onion
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 1 lime
  • 1 lemon
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. De-seed the chiles and cut into large chunks. Use more chiles if you want more spice. The smaller the chile, the hotter it will be. Chop up a quarter or half of the onion into smaller pieces. Use more onion if you like the taste. Wash and clean half a bunch of the cilantro. Tear off most of the leaves. Some stems are fine but not the ends.
  2. In food processor, throw all of these together along with garlic and chop. Add drizzle of olive oil as these are combined as needed. It will almost become a paste but don't over mix!
  3. Half the avocados. If very ripe, spoon out into bowl and mash with fork. If perfectly ripe yet firm, cut into squares, then spoon out. Do not mash.
  4. Roll then half a lime. Squeeze both halves into bowl and mix with spoon. Roll then half a lemon. Add half of lemon juice into bowl and mix.
  5. Cut the mangos into squares and add to the bowl. Mix together.
  6. Add the cilantro, chile, garlic, onion paste and mix together. Add drizzles of olive oil if needed to aid mixing.
  7. Add lots of salt and pepper to taste. If you want more acid, add the second half of the lemon or add more lime juice, after tasting.
Notes
Frozen mango can be used in place of fresh mango if not in season, just be sure to allow a few hours to thaw and then dried either in a salad spinner or with paper towels.


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3 Responses to Alyse’s Mango Serrano Guacamole: Super Bowl Guacamole Extravaganza

  1. Colin says:

    It was tasty, as evidenced by my scarfing most of it when it was made — and I usually prefer my guacamole with pico/salsa instead of mangoes. I actually want to try making this when mangoes are fresh and in season.

  2. el smrtmnky says:

    LOVED THIS. As i admitted earlier on the tweeties, I pigged out on this big time. loved the balance of the sweet and the spicy. I’m more of a heat dude. i would love to try this with the turkey carnitas i recently discovered. the salty/sweet combo i’m sure would rock my weave off. Kudos!!

  3. IJustMadeThatUp says:

    I would never have expected the mango to work in a guacamole, but it’s pretty darn good. Adding the extra heat to it helps mellow the sweetness factor.

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