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

Amá’s Guacamole, served in a white bowl with tortilla chips, and garnished with chopped red onion

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
Print

Amá’s Guacamole

Yield: 2 cups
Author: Recipe from Josef Centeno; adaptation and headnote by Leslie Brenner
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.

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.

'Ama: a Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen':

Avocado, guacamole, guacamole recipe, avocado recipe, Tex-Mex recipes, modern Tex-Mex, Bar Amá, Bar Amá recipe
Appetizers
Tex-Mex, Mexican
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @cookswithoutborders on Instagram and hashtag it #cookswithoutborders
Created using The Recipes Generator