“I suppose there are people who can pass up free guacamole, but they’re either allergic to avocado or too joyless to live.” – Frank Bruni
Last week, Tom Tom (the man formerly referred to as ‘the teenager’) and his girlfriend, the most lovely, Ellie, were around for Ellie’s first cooking session.
In her very warm and unaffected way, Ellie had asked if she and I could spend some time cooking together. And, as you might imagine, I thought this was a fine idea. It must be said that Tom Tom also felt this was a fine idea.
Both Ellie and Tom Tom are uni’ students. And, while Ellie is keen to expand her cooking repertoire, she is on a fairly tight budget, so we started nice and simple.
The plan is to give Ellie an increasing repertoire of budget friendly and healthy meal options as we expand her cooking skills. The bonus for me is that we get to spend some lovely time together.
Our inaugural menu
- Herby Chicken Nuggets
- Roasted Vegetables (one of the best ways to eat a rainbow of veggies in one go. Economical, seasonal and healthy)
- Guacamole
As it happens, we had an absolute blast…
I reckon guacamole is an ‘essential’ to have up your sleeve…
“Excellent!” I cried. “Elementary,” said he.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Sherlock Holmes
Despite the fact that it’s so easy to whip up a batch of this green goodness, Ellie needs a recipe. So, I’m doubling down and sharing it with all of you, too!
- 2 avocados
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- the juice from 1 or 2 fresh limes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
- Halve and de-stone your avocados. Spoon the flesh out into a bowl. Using a fork, roughly mash the avocado flesh to your desired texture.
- Add the minced garlic, juice from one lime, salt, chopped spring onions and chopped coriander in a bowl.
- Mix well until just combined.
- Taste for seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.
- Voila!
A few ideas on what to partner with your guacamole…
- Guacamole loves bacon. You could whip up a batch of zucchini fritters (AIP reintroduction) and barbecued bacon like we did over the weekend…
- AIP-friendly tacos are a great ‘leftovers night option’ for pulled pork or brisket. Just shred some lettuce, whip up a batch of AIP tortillas, and top with guacamole… Yum!
- Sliced cucumber rounds topped with a dollop of guacamole and some smoked salmon is an uber healthy afternoon snack, and even doubled for nibbles when you’re having friends around for a meal. They’ll never even know it’s AIP!
- Generously dollop a spoon of guacamole onto a burger patties or some simple grilled meat.
- Add to your soup as a garnish to add some extra healthy fat
E N J O Y !
This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable
Kitchen goddess & cooking mentor! That photo of the zucchini fritters and barbecued bacon with guacamole is the most heavenly thing I’ve seen in a long time~.
That’s me, Petra – kitchen goddess… Just call me Nigella!
Actually, the zucchini fritters were pretty good!
So great that they want to learn!! I pretty much wing it when I make guacamole, but my recipe would be identical 😉 delicious every time.
Hard to beat an avocado, isn’t it, Christine?
…and yes – it’s lovely that Ellie wants to learn (and lovely for the Tom Tom that he can watch the footie while we cook! He especially likes the easting bit.)
I ♥ guacamole! I often create a snack just centered around shoveling guacamole in my mouth. This looks delish!
I LOVE guacamole, too