As a Melbourne resident for many years, I watched the rise of smashed avocado. When the millennium clicked over, the dish became ubiquitous, the go-to menu item in every brunch house and hipster-led cafe in town. “Is there any cafe in Melbourne that doesn’t serve ‘smashed” avocado these days?’ once asked our erudite pal, Bucky. “And why so violent towards our creamy green brethren?”
Indeed, all this wonton smashing has pushed us over the line into a new era of ‘peak avo’ – the world’s late morning love affair with the green nut has begun to generate massive price hikes and illegal deforestation. Meanwhile, there’s been talk of establishments busting out ‘avocado carpaccio’ of late, a disgraceful blight on an otherwise honest nut.
All this is a shame, because…well, there’s a lot to love about the avo, and it deserves far more respect than the violence and trend-fawning it endures.
Millennia ago, avo was rocking the world’s tastebuds with a far more dignified fate fate, and given that we like to bring things back to its roots here at sh.k, today, we honour the Aztec Gods and their timeless ancient dip: guacamole.
A good guac, using a well-respected avo, is a thing of sheer beauty. Whip our one up, get your Mexican feast on, and turn your day into a mighty fine one.
- 3 large ripe avocadoes, peeled and diced
- 1 small red onion, very finely diced
- 2 fresh jalapeños, or ¼ jar of pickled, finely diced
- ½ of a red pepper, very finely diced
- 1 small bunch of coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of two limes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Add avocadoes, red onion, jalapeños, coriander and red pepper to a large bowl
- Using a fork, mix, crush and stir to combine
- Add the cumin, lime juice, and a tablespoon of oil
- Mix and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour
- Garnish with coriander and serve!
Fun avo fact: as well as ‘P. adrymifolia’ of the Persea Americana tree, in some crazy corners of the world folks call it ‘Alligator Pear’. Indeed, a Spanish-English pronunciation guide from 1900 lists guacamole as a “salad of alligator pear”. Snap.
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