Cinco de Mayo

While Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5 1852, is not as important in Mexico as its Independence Day (September 16), it’s a great excuse to bring out the Tequila and whip up some guacamole! In addition I plan to cook up a pot of one of my favorite Mexican soups, Calda Tlalpeño. Happy Cinco de Mayo and Buen Provecho!

Basic Guacamole

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados

About 1/2 a cup of finely chopped red onions

1/2 a jalapeño or serrano pepper (or adjust to your taste) seeds removed finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime plus about a quarter teaspoon of finely grated lime zest.

Kosher salt to taste

To Prepare

Cut the avocados in half. Remove the seeds and keep aside. Scoop out the avocado with a spoon into a bowl and mash roughly with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place the seeds into the guacamole halfway to keep it fresh.

I love to serve this with jicama, peeled and sliced into sticks. This is a very basic recipe. You can add chopped tomatoes if you wish. If you are ambitious you can mash up some roasted tomatillos and garlic and add it to the recipe.