Amá’s Guacamole
At his Los Angeles restaurant Bar Amá, chef Josef Centeno lightens his guacamole with an unusual ingredient: grated celery. The effect is surprisingly delightful! We adapted the recipe from Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen, which Centeno wrote with Betty Hallock. We reviewed the book in September 2020.
Makes about 2 cups.
Ingredients
1/2 garlic clove
2 celery stalks
4 avocados
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (leaves and soft stems), finely chopped (about 2 to 3 ounces before the big stems are removed)
1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
Instructions
1. Grate the garlic with a fine Microplane grater into a large bowl. Grate the celery on the smallest holes of a box grater into the bowl. Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into the bowl with a spoon, being careful not to tear through the skin. Discard the skin. Add the cilantro, red onion, serrano chile, lime juice and salt.
2. Mash the ingredients together with a fork, using a cut-and-fold motion, so the ingredients are well combined but the mixture stays very chunky. Taste and add more lime juice and/or salt if needed. Serve immediately, with tortilla chips.
Amá’s Guacamole
Ingredients
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 2 celery stalks
- 4 avocados
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (leaves and soft stems), finely chopped (about 2 to 3 ounces before the big stems are removed)
- 1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
Instructions
- Grate the garlic with a fine Microplane grater into a large bowl. Grate the celery on the smallest holes of a box grater into the bowl. Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into the bowl with a spoon, being careful not to tear through the skin. Discard the skin. Add the cilantro, red onion, serrano chile, lime juice and salt.
- Mash the ingredients together with a fork, using a cut-and-fold motion, so the ingredients are well combined but the mixture stays very chunky. Taste and add more lime juice and/or salt if needed. Serve immediately, with tortilla chips.