Difficulty: Easy | Prep time: 5-10 minutes | Serves 4

For me, guacamole is a necessity, and one of those things you just can’t take shortcuts on. No dried cilantro please, or onion powder. But luckily, it’s actually really quick and easy to make. If you are missing any of these ingredients, no sweat! All you really need is avocados and salt. The rest adds zest and texture. The real key is to use good, ripe avocados.

My favorite part of this recipe is the sun-dried tomatoes. They bring the perfect balance of flavor and texture to the party.

It may not sound like a very camp-friendly recipe, but the nice thing about guacamole on the road is that none of the ingredients need to be refrigerated, and it’s a great way to incorporate farmer’s market produce into your cooking.

Pair with some locally made tortilla chips and a bottle of red wine.

Ingredients:

  • 4 ripe avocados
  • 1 lime (or 2 tbsp lime juice)
  • 4 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro leaves (a small bunch should do)
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • Salt to taste (kosher if you have it)
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar (optional)

Equipment:

  • knife
  • cutting board
  • large fork
  • serving bowl
  • mesh strainer (optional)

Directions:

  1. Finely dice the onion.
  2. Place the onions into the strainer, then place the strainer into the serving bowl. Pour the cider vinegar over the onions and leave to soak. This removes some of the “bite” from the onion, and keeps it from overpowering the other ingredients. If you don’t want to buy vinegar or don’t have a mesh strainer, you can skip this step and use half of the onion.
  3. Remove the skin and pit from the avocados and roughly chop the meat.
  4. Run your fingers along the cilantro stalks to remove the leaves. Toss the stems and roughly chop the leaves.
  5. Julienne (fine, thin slices) the sun-dried tomatoes.
  6. Remove the strainer with the onions from the bowl. Dump out the vinegar, and add the onions back into the bowl.
  7. Toss in the avocado chunks, cilantro, and sun-dried tomatoes.
  8. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime.
  9. Use a large fork to mash the mixture until its uniform in consistency, but still has texture. Don’t over-mash. It should be chunky, not pasty.
  10. Add salt to taste and serve fresh.

Kick it up a notch:

Fold in one finely chopped jalapeño pepper, seeds and all.

Tip: Guacamole is best served fresh. If you do make it ahead, or if you have leftovers, cover with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap against the surface of the guac and removing all air (instead of stretching over the bowl). This keeps it from turing brown as quickly.