The simplest guacamole is made with avocado, onions, jalapeño, lime, salt, and cilantro. The amounts of the ingredients can vary; guacamole is very forgiving. The important things are to taste for a balance of salt, heat, and acid and to make the guacamole taste the way you like it.

Ingredients

　　2 large ripe avocados

　　Salt

　　4 green onions

　　2 or 3 small juicy limes

　　1 jalapeño pepper

　　Cilantro

　　Halve the avocados, remove the pits, scoop out the flesh into a mortar, and season with salt. Trim and slice the green onions, and put them in a small bowl, add salt, and squeeze in the juice of 2 limes—macerating the onions in lime juice softens their raw taste. Cut off the stem end of the jalapeño, cut the pepper in half lengthwise, and remove the membranes and seeds. Flatten the pepper and cut into fine dice. Mash the avocado, but leave it a bit chunky. Add the onions and lime juice, along with the jalapeño, either all or part, depending on how spicy you like your guacamole, and mix lightly. Taste and add more salt and lime juice as needed. Chop a handful of fresh cilantro stems and leaves, and stir into the guacamole. Serve with tortilla chips.

　　Cooks' Note

　　If you like, add a diced ripe tomato to the guacamole. Gilbert’s advice: Don’t bother to peel it; Mexican cooks never do.

　　In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters. Copyright © 2010. Published by Clarkson Potter. All Rights Reserved.Named the most influential figure in the past 30 years of the American kitchen by Gourmet magazine, ALICE WATERS is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and the author of nine cookbooks.