Alligator pear, a.k.a. the avocado

So I made my own guacamole today. I know, it's one of those things that's so available ready-made that you think why would someone want to make it on their own? But really, it's so easy to make, I wonder why more people don't make it on their own.

I've come to love guacamole. Really. I never was an avocado person, maybe because dishes with avocado are few and far between in Singapore (except for maybe the occasional California roll or that Indonesian dessert with pureed avocado and gula melaka (brown palm sugar). But ever since moving here, I love guacamole on everything- in a BLT (Zingerman's), on a salad (Q'doba), in a burrito (Big Ten Burrito), and of course, on its own (Whole Foods has an awesome guacamole). There's something about the creamy butteriness of the avocado with the slightly tart zest of the lemon/ lime, and the crunch of the onions that just goes perfectly together. And I tell myself, even though it's higher in calories and fat than most other produce, it's still a vegetable! Besides you've got to admit that there's something kinda oddly sexy about an avocado- that deep, evocative green, and its gorgeously textured surface hiding this incredibly luscious, velvety fruit.

The recipe I used today is from Ina Garten (whose show I've come to adore even more than Giada's). It's literally a 15-minute recipe and with the exception of the avocados, we had all the other ingredients right in the kitchen. This version doesn't have cilantro- which I'm not a fan of anyway- but I'm sure you can add some of your own if you'd like. The hot sauce adds a great zing to the whole thing so make sure you don't leave it out.

The Barefoot Contessa's Guacamole

4 ripe Haas avocados
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
8 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

Cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. Immediately add the lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well. Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados in the bowl until they are finely diced. Add the tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.

It's great immediately after you've mixed everything together, but it gets even better when you leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors really mingle and come together.