Yes, everyone, everyone can make guacamole, has their own best-ever recipe and actually, they’re all good.
But I was banking on this one to win.
My friends hosted a guac-off at their home, as you do. The judges were not “qualified” culinary professionals so much as glutenous friends who are all too happy to eat free guacamole to the point of physical discomfort. But the competition was stiff. There were about 20 entries, not counting the cilantro/non-cilantro versions that people brought as their single submission in a play to appeal to the most voters. And one participant bought 5 distinct entries plus a cilantro-free version of each. There couldn’t have been an avocado left to spare in central Toronto.
The winner? There was a tie! There were 3 runners-up! And I lost. Completely. I heard lots of nice things as people compared notes about my guacamole versus another–they could talk openly since the entries were numbered, not named. People liked the tang (I love the tang in mine) and thought it was a strong classic version (it is definitely a go-to if you want a classic, despite one non-traditional ingredient), some wished for more heat (well, I did too, people. I tore into seven different, disappointingly mild jalapenos before adding a serrano instead). No, it was not my strongest attempt and mostly because I committed a fatal flaw: I went out after work instead of coming straight home to make this guac the night before the guac-off like a true competitor would have. This one is always better the next day, perhaps that’s true of all dips. There’s mild discoloration on the surface after a day which can be scraped or stirred in and you have a much better dip than the one tasted the previous day.
The non-traditional ingredient in this guacamole is yogurt. My friend gave me the idea to try it since sour cream is what makes her husband’s version her favourite. It makes it both tangy-er and creamier. Sour cream is a little bolder in guacamole, yogurt adds a more subtle je ne sais quoi that will separate this guacamole from the rest. I still think that had I brought a non-cilantro version, I would have picked up the swing votes. I’ll never know. So for now, I offer you an officially unpopular guacamole. That totally would have won the next morning.
This story and the recipe that goes with it can be found in “AL FRESCO”, ISSUE 019 of Le Sauce Magazine! Please get it here: http://www.lesauce.com/app