Avacado is for Guacamole

These heavy luscious "pears" - only because they are pear-shaped - pack so much good nutrition in one fruit that you can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Slice thinly on toast with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper; or crush a slice in your buljol. Great in a cucumber salad dressed with lime juice for pelau. Or in a guacamole dipped with corn chips! Guacamole is thought to have originated with the Aztecs and simply refers to avocado mashed with a sauce of lime juice and salt. Here's my version of guacamole.

Avocado, one large ripe (pollock variety shown here)
Lime, one large
Hot pepper, sliced without seeds
Onion, peeled and sliced finely
Garlic, two cloves crushed
Salt, enough to sprinkle all over the avocado
Olive oil, teaspoon (optional

To test whether the avocado is ripe, the skin is shiny, the stem falls out and there's a subtle yielding under the skin as you press ever so gently.





Put hot pepper, onion, garlic in your bowl. Quarter the avocado and remove the seed. Slice through the quarters without cutting the skin, sprinkle with salt and squeeze of lime. Spoon into the bowl with seasonings and mix or mash - depending on whether you like chunks of avocado or a smooth paste. (I like chunks of pure avocado in the paste!) Serve with corn chips.

Some people like their guacamole mashed to a paste. Some like it chunky so you can savour the texture and taste of pure avocado mixing with the lime and pepper in the mouth.