Guacamole

Until I came to California, I think that I had Tex-Mex food only twice in my life. For cultural, geographical and geopolitical reasons, Mexican food (and it's US-adapted Tex-Mex food) did not make it to France the way it made it to the US: pico de gallo salsa does not mean anything to my friends; we don't have fancy-burrito chain and definitively no Taco or Chili chains! The only two things French tend to associate with Mexican food are margaritas and corn chips. But that again is  more the result of the influence of large agro-business companies that have pushed their products on the French market rather than culinary tradition!
Living in the US, I have adapted and adopted Tex-Mex ( I would be ashamed of calling it Mexican) food in my daily cuisine.  I find that corn tortillas are a great variation of my buckwheat galettes; I find that a large bowl of chili (con or sin carne) is a great alternative to lentils; but more frequently, we have corn chips with guacamole.

We eat a lot of avocados in our family. I have fed avocados to my children since they were able to eat solids: they are easy to chew on and very healthy. They also relatively high in calories which makes them a mind-reliever for parents with small eaters! The only drawback with avocados is that they can turn bad very quickly... So, as a way to use them when they were too soft to be eaten in a salad, I make guacamole. It's the perfect dip to have with corn chips on our aperitifs du vendredi. It's much healthier than any store-purchase salsa (which would be full of added salt) and a hit among both my children and my husband (who grew up eating more Central and South American food than me). It's actually very annoying  interesting to see how my children are willing to eat spicy guacamole when we are serving it during the aperitif (ie., with chips) and not willing to eat it when I just serve them a spoon of guacamole as an appetizer (ie.,with no chips)!
When I make guacamole, I never use already-prepared mix, I prefer to season it myself. Of course, they never taste the same but the fact that there is never guacamole left in the bowl is a good indication that they are good enough! And yes, it's easy to make and much healthier than any store-purchased version! So,make your own. Por favor!  Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- Two ripe avocados
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- Lime juice
- Fresh cilantro, minced
- Salt, pepper, hot chili sauce

• Mash the avocados, making sure to keep at least one pit
• Mix in the tomato, onion and fresh cilantro
• Season with lime juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce
• Leave one avocado pit in the bowl and serve

My Personal Comments:

• You can use sweet or red onion. I personally like it with red onion.
• You could add paprika or cayenne pepper (instead of hot chili sauce).
• Guacamole does not age well. It's best eaten the same day.