Avocado Is More Than Guacamole

I love avocados. When you raise your own, you have the luxury of extended seasons, and varieties you just won't find at the local market. Even the farmer's markets generally offer mostly Hass. Don't get me wrong, I am not on an anti-Hass campaign, but trust me, you can do better.

Each variety of avocado brings new flavors, colors, and mouth feel to your guacamole fiesta. I'll address each of the available varieties in the next post. You will enjoy avocados much more if you expand your avo repertoire to Reed, Bacon, Stewart, Holiday, and Fuerte.

 When it comes to Guacamole, I am a purist. KISS is a good axiom to live by. Keep it simple. I like to do a coarse chop on 1/2 the avocados. A fine puree on the other 1/2. A few pinches of grey salt. Add the juice of 1/2 lime, a splash of Cholula hot sauce, and a bit of Pico de Gallo. KEEP THAT MAYO AWAY FROM MY GUACAMOLE. Back up, back up, put it back in the fridge. Keeping some of the avos chunky will allow you to really taste the pure avocado flavor. If you use multiple varieties, it makes the flavor profile even more interesting.

  I really could be happy with just guacamole, but there is more. Oh, there is more.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite chefs did a cooking demo at Catalina Offshore Products (catalinaop.com ). Tommy Gomes is my favorite fishmonger. One of the great things about COP is how supportive they are of the local food scene. On any given day, you will see the best chefs and restaurateurs buying fish with you. A big bonus is Tommy's cooking. Have a bowl of cioppino while you order your fish, or have an oyster shooter. I love it there. So do my grand-kids.

 Chef Jack Monaco was in the house. Chef Jack used to be the executive chef for the Perfect Pan and Piret's back in the day. Some of you weren't born yet. Some of you weren't even a glimmer in your daddy's eye yet. But some of us remember.

 San Diego was a wasteland of food. Jack in the Box was our big claim to fame, not exactly haute cuisine. Gazing back through the mists of time...Perfect Pan was an oasis. I took my first cooking lessons there. Chef Jack, George Munger himself (often in bermuda shorts), Nadia Frigeri (oh my, still one of my favorites), and occasionally great stars just rising on the horizon (Jaques Pepin) held court here and taught cooking to beginners. I bought my first Cuisinart there...still have it. Ah...such memories. If I must say so myself, the inputs of these great artists of the kitchen helped turn me into a pretty darn good cook.

Well, after too long an interval, I saw chef Jack Monaco again. He is still one of the greats, local or otherwise. And he is still teaching people to cook. On the menu- fresh fish. Yellowtail and thresher shark. Two of my favorite fish. Both are local favorites of fishermen and diners. Both fish were so simply prepared, but perfectly sublime. Salt and pepper. Grilled fish at its peak of freshness. Served on a slice of chewy baguette with a dollop of avocado lime compound butter.

That fish, presented in the most simple way, but so sublimely dressed was exquisite. My eyes were rolled back in my head. I was afraid I would have to go to rehab to recover from yellowtail with avocado lime compound butter addiction. Simplicity, when done perfectly, is still the best way.

Chef Jack's recipe for avocado lime compound butter.

2 lb butter
2 lb ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper

1) Combine all ingredients in bowl of food processer and whip together to form a very smooth and creamy texture.

2)Transfer to a storage container, label, date, and refrigerate until needed.



This dish was frightfully good. See, I told you that avocados are about more than just guacamole. Thanks, chef Jack for sharing your food, knowledge, and recipes with the world.