Holy guacamole

Every single time I take a scoop of ‘Rosa’ – inspired guacamole with a perfectly salted corn chip, I think I faintly see a halo-like glow hovering over our lava bowl!  This fantastic guacamole is the result of years of going to ‘Rosa Mexicano’ – where you will find the finest Mexican cuisine in Manhattan – and paying close attention to how they make it at our table side, savoring every bite, and most often than not, requesting another bowlful.  It is simply delicious and never lasts very long. Other than the fresh ingredients, the secret lies in their equipment – a molcajete, a.k.a.- a lava bowl.  Seeing how easy it was to make, Rick and I found a lava bowl online (http://www.thelatinproducts.com/molcajetes) and got right down to business.

You will need 2 avocados (ripe, but not mushy), 6 cherry tomatoes – chopped, 1 jalapeno (most of the seeds and ribs removed) – chopped, 3/4 cup red onion – chopped, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro – chopped, and kosher salt.

Take a healthy pinch of kosher salt and sprinkle in the bottom of bowl.  Add 2 teaspoons of the chopped cilantro, and 1 teaspoon of the chopped jalapeno to the salted bowl and with a wooden spoon, using a circular motion, mix and grind together.  This seasons the bowl (very important), and now you are ready to start.

Take a paring knife and insert into the avocado until the tip hits the pit, and turn the avocado with the knife, and when it is cut all around, give the avocado a twist to separate into two halves. Remove the pit. (If there is a little browning on the inside it is still O.K. to use.  Too much browning it is over-ripe and not O.K.)  Now, with the paring knife, gently score both avocado halves into a 1/4 inch checkerboard, and scoop out into the bowl.  Add a small pinch of salt, the chopped onion, 1/2 of the jalapeno (we like it hot, so we usually use the whole jalapeno), and all of the tomatoes.  With the wooden spoon, fold together gently and be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as you do this.  Season with salt to taste.

You will find that each time you make this guac, you will customize it to your liking.  I can guarantee it will be a big hit – it always is in our home.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!