Fake Guacamole

Read an article about fake guac, was curious so I made a batch. Surprisingly good, easy, inexpensive and tastier than guac made with the typical under-ripe avocado found in non-Hispanic groceries. ----->Link


Fake Guac, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:Surprisingly good, easy, inexpensive and tastier than guac made with the typical under-ripe avocado found in non-Hispanic groceries.

I listened to the interview of Cabral on NPR All Things Considered Friday. I feel like there's a different perception among people as to what they describe this type of dip/sauce. In the southwest & west coast, it's apparently described as 'taqueria guacamole', but in Chicago I think it's usually under salsas, as 'avocado salsa'. I've frankly never heard of taqueria guacamole as a distinct version in Chicago-area taquerias.

This recipe/tweak is perfect for imparting the color and texture of a salsa containing avocado, but the aesthetic is not what Chicagoans think of as guacamole, IMO. Without visible tomato and cilantro with the creamy richness of avocados, I don't treat anything with the esteem Cabral gives to taqueria guacamole.

FWIW, guacamole and avocados are my favorite food, making homemade 3x's/week, so it's possible I'm too invested in conceptions of these things.

bweiny wrote:IMO. Without visible tomato and cilantro with the creamy richness of avocados

I don't mean to imply "fake guac" is the same as rich/chunky/creamy guac made with perfectly ripe avocados, middle of summer tomatoes etc, its not. That said, I ate the entire pictured bowl with chips and had a lot more remaining in the blender all for $3, probably less. Another arrow in the quiver.

Not saying this couldn't be a delicious condiment in its own right (I'm sure it is) but looking at the source's side-by-side pictures, they seem to not understand what the proper texture for guacamole actually is. It's not a homogeneous puree. It's chunky, variable and pasty. It that respect, they seem to have gotten their faux version all wrong.

=R=

G Wiv wrote:

bweiny wrote:Without visible tomato and cilantro with the creamy richness of avocados

I don't mean to imply "fake guac" is the same as rich/chunky/creamy guac made with perfectly ripe avocados, middle of summer tomatoes etc, its not. That said, I ate the entire pictured bowl with chips and had a lot more remaining in the blender all for $3, probably less. Another arrow in the quiver.

Oh, I know. It's just a way of making a quality condiment without the demands and costs of ripe avocados. All I'm saying is that I believe what the source describes as taqueria guacamole is known in Chicago as avocado salsa. It's a lighter shade of green than any verde, so the brain assumes it comes from avocado because we link that shade to guacamole. As for texture, as Ronnie says, it's so far away from what we think of as guacamole (let alone one served at Asadero or Mazamitla, [insert-your-fave]), it's what Chicagoans associate with avocado salsa, usually seen, ironically, in hipper, less traditional non-taqueria taco shops.

Like Ronnie said, the texture is all wrong. I associate that style of avocado “sauce” with chain Mexican fast food in places like Oconomowoc and Columbus Ohio or with packaged guacamole from Kraft or some other gargantuan food conglomerate.

Once again, I don't mean to imply "fake guac" is the same as rich/chunky/creamy guac made with perfectly ripe avocados, middle of summer tomatoes etc, its not. And, after a little more reading, neither did the article author Javier Cabral.

Nick Zukin, ExtraMSG on LTH, made a couple of interesting comments on my FB post, the gist is this not meant to replicate "guacamole per se, but salsa de aguacate, aka, guacamole taquero or guacamole salsa, something you find with salsas at taquerias." He also did an interesting side by side at his Portland restaurant, with surprising results. ----> Link

Hopefully a few more people make the recipe and comment.

Octarine wrote:Like Ronnie said, the texture is all wrong. I associate that style of avocado “sauce” with chain Mexican fast food in places like Oconomowoc and Columbus Ohio or with packaged guacamole from Kraft or some other gargantuan food conglomerate.

I've seen avocado salsa at Mexican groceries around here. For example, my local Pete's Markets on the Southwest Side typically sell both homemade guacamole and avocado salsa, and I'm pretty certain Herdez and other Mexican brands sell a version as well. They're different. With chips, I like straight-up guac, whether it's the minimalist versions without tomato to the ones that are basically avocado + pico de gallo. (My Pete's will often have free samples of their guac, avocado salsa, and salsa roja. I'll always go for the guac and roja, but pass on the avocoado salsa. Though, lately, they've stopped putting the guac out and only have the roja and avocado salsas out.)


However, for tacos or otherwise as a condiment rather than a dip in its own right, I like the drizzly stuff. I'll be interested in trying out this recipe soon, especially as I have some leftover grilled calabacita from cooking out the other day.

Over the past year I've had issues with extreme stomach pain any time I've ingested avocado so I'm really excited to try this substitute.
Thanks GWiv!

For those who've made this, what variety of squash did you use (or would you recommend)? Chayote, other? Or are calabacitas a specific variety? I definitely want to try this sooner than later.

Thanks,

=R=

I went to Morelia, they had Mexican squash as I assume do most Mexican groceries. I looked for Calabacitas/tatuma, small Mexican summer squash similar to zucchini. Google image link ------> here Chayote is not used in this particular recipe.




I'd venture our mutual favorite Mexican grocery Carniceria Guanajuato carries them as well. I'll check Fresh Farms next time I go.

Morelia Supermarket
7300 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60645
773-761-3291

G Wiv wrote:I went to Morelia, they had Mexican squash as I assume do most Mexican groceries. I looked for Calabacitas/tatuma, small Mexican summer squash similar to zucchini. Google image link ------> here Chayote is not used in this particular recipe.

MexicanSquash1.jpg

MexicanSquash3.jpg

I'd venture our mutual favorite Mexican grocery Carniceria Guanajuato carries them as well. I'll check Fresh Farms next time I go.

Morelia Supermarket
7300 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60645
773-761-3291

Thanks, Gary. I expect to be near Fresh Farms tomorrow and will try stop in.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I definitely want to try this sooner than later.

FYI, next time out (soon) I plan on upping the jalapeno to 2, maybe 3, garlic to 4-cloves and increase the salt slightly from the articles linked recipe. Plus doubling the recipe, it goes fast. I'll probably try a version with habanero as well.

In my recent salsa internet travels I came across a tasty looking fried/emulsified looking jalapeno salsa, and a few others. I'm kicking around a mid to late August taco get together at my house with 5-6 salsas in squeeze bottles and a big ol' bowl of traditional chunky mashed guacamole.

In addition to traditional accoutrements (think lunch at La Chaparrita plus beans and rice) I'll probably make a tasty salsa Jazzfood outlined a number of years ago in a long forgotten lettuce/salsa thread. Though I substitute grapeseed oil for olive oil.
"jazzfood
the green salsa may be lettuce. i make one in a high speed blender or food processor with jalapeno's, cilantro, lettuce, drizzled cold o oil and s and p. you emulsify it all together, which gives it a creamy consistency. also has the herbal overtones, plus looks like guac. for added heat, you can use a habenero instead."

G Wiv wrote:In my recent salsa internet travels I came across a tasty looking fried/emulsified looking jalapeno salsa, and a few others. I'm kicking around a mid to late August taco get together at my house with 5-6 salsas in squeeze bottles and a big ol' bowl of traditional chunky mashed guacamole.

In addition to traditional accoutrements (think lunch at La Chaparrita plus beans and rice) I'll probably make a tasty salsa Jazzfood outlined a number of years ago in a long forgotten lettuce/salsa thread. Though I substitute grapeseed oil for olive oil.
"jazzfood
the green salsa may be lettuce. i make one in a high speed blender or food processor with jalapeno's, cilantro, lettuce, drizzled cold o oil and s and p. you emulsify it all together, which gives it a creamy consistency. also has the herbal overtones, plus looks like guac. for added heat, you can use a habenero instead."

Wow, that brings up an old thread -- I'd asked about that kind of salsa as it was served at Taqueria Morelos, which has been closed for probably 15 years. That one was thinner and a little paler than what's pictured in your link, more like a creamy salad dressing in texture -- wouldn't work as something guac-like. But gooood. I still remember that and their tacos al pastor, and the ex gas station they resided in is still vacant at Camp MacDonald and River (although there's signs about a Korean Cafe recently).

Last summer I wrote about "Asparagus Guacamole" for Oak Park's Wednesday Journal:

"Walking through the Oak Park Farmers' Market last weekend, I stopped by Stover's, one of the market's mainstay vendors, and bought a jar of asparagus guacamole. I ate it with some tortilla chips, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Seasoned with garlic and cumin, thickened with pectin, it looked and tasted somewhat like guacamole. Though it lacked the lushness of avocado-based guacamole, it also lacked the calories. A jar of asparagus guacamole is only 70 calories; compare that to an average of 230 calories for one avocado, which may be mixed with sour cream and other caloric condiments on the way to becoming guacamole…or at least, avocado guacamole.

Apparently, the ancient Aztecs never trademarked the word 'guacamole,' because now there are a number of other sauces called 'guacamole' that are prepared without avocado." [https://www.oakpark.com/Dining/Blogs/9-8-2018/Guacamole,-with-or-without-Avocados/]

As GWiv has taken pains to clarify, these non-avocado guacamoles are different animals than the avocado versions, which I, too, prefer, though that shouldn't stop us from enjoying the other versions for what they are, though that may be more difficult to do if we think of them as "fake" guacamole.

G Wiv wrote:Another arrow in the quiver.

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. A solid condiment and I think the only 'controversy' here is what one ends up calling the final product (or naming the thread ). It's basically a tomatillo and squash salsa, and it's tasty. I made a batch today and am also glad to now have it in my repertoire. It's not dissimilar -- in ingredients or method -- from other tomatillo salsas I've made in the past. If someone insisted on calling it Faux Guacamole, I wouldn't tussle with them over it but I'd probably shake my head disdainfully in their direction.

G Wiv wrote:FYI, next time out (soon) I plan on upping the jalapeno to 2, maybe 3, garlic to 4-cloves and increase the salt slightly from the articles linked recipe. Plus doubling the recipe, it goes fast. I'll probably try a version with habanero as well.

Sage advice. Even having amped these components up in my inaugural batch, per your musings, I thought it could have benefited from further punching up. And I think that with some minor adjustments, this could easily be made into a solid marinade for pork, fish or chicken, too. It reminded me a lot of some of the marinades that Roy Choi and Jon Favreau made on The Chef Show.

G Wiv wrote:I'd venture our mutual favorite Mexican grocery Carniceria Guanajuato carries them [calabacitas] as well. I'll check Fresh Farms next time I go.

Based on their appearance, I found what I'm pretty sure were calabacitas at the Golf Mill Fresh Farms today. Tucked between the fresh fava beans and the zucchini, they were billed as Lita squash . . .


Lita Squash at Fresh Farms on Golf

That's what I used in my run, though I'll be near Carniceria Guanajuato #3 in the next few days and will check out their offerings, too.

Thanks again, Gary, for inspiring me to cook something I'd never cooked before.

=R=

Fresh Farms
8203 W Golf Rd
Niles, IL 60714
(224) 470-2060

^ Yeah, those look like the squashes sold as "Mexican squash" or "calabacita" around here. I don't think the exact variety of squash makes that much difference, as long as it's a green summer squash of some sort.

So I did end up making this tonight, and I do have to say, it is quite a nice tomatillo-based salsa. I will definitely file this recipe away for future use. Now I got to get to grilling up some meat and making tacos tomorrow to put the salsa through its paces. I dare say, I actually like this more than the avocado salsas I've had. It's surprisingly rich and creamy, I guess due to that 1/4 cup of oil that is incorporated. Mimics that avocado mouthfeel a bit.

ronnie_suburban wrote:If someone insisted on calling it Faux Guacamole, I wouldn't tussle with them over . . .

I simply called it what Javier Cabral did in his article.

That seems the correct squash and marinade a great idea with the addition of a little acid, I was thinking of adding lime anyway.

In my recent internet salsa ramblings I've found 5-6 new to me taqueria salsas I plan to try/tweak, cull down to 3-4, rinse out my squeeze bottles and grill a bunch of meat.

Just got a text from French Omelettes asking me what the hell is going on!

G Wiv wrote:...
Just got a text from French Omelettes asking me what the hell is going on!

Ha ha ha.

G Wiv wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:If someone insisted on calling it Faux Guacamole, I wouldn't tussle with them over . . .

I simply called it what Javier Cabral did in his article.

That seems the correct squash and marinade a great idea with the addition of a little acid, I was thinking of adding lime anyway.

In my recent internet salsa ramblings I've found 5-6 new to me taqueria salsas I plan to try/tweak, cull down to 3-4, rinse out my squeeze bottles and grill a bunch of meat.

Just got a text from French Omelettes asking me what the hell is going on!

GWiv, thanks for starting this thread I have been making a lot of different salsas lately and plan to try the squash-based recipe. On a related note, I've been using mexicoinmykitchen.com for salsa ideas. It's a great website by a Mexican home-cook named Mely Martinez and is loaded with recipes for salsas, mains, appetizers and I have barely scratched the surface of the ample content.

I've had good luck with a couple recipes in particular. The creamy avocado salsa is great, with serrano chiles and raw tomatillos and could not be easier. I've also been making the chile de arbol salsa recipe. You boil ten dry arbol chiles, then add two tomatoes, two tomatillos and a clove of garlic. Cook ten minutes, drain (I would suggest making sure any excess water is drained here because it can get a bit watery if you don't) and add everything to a blender. Add a handful of cilantro, some salt, lightly blend and top with raw chopped white onion. This has been my go-to spicy red salsa for the summer. Good luck with your taco party!

Has anybody added small chunks of tomato, maybe onion to fake guac? That would, to me, cover at least 50% of the texture issues. Probably tomatoes should be without the gel, which i'm guessing would further thin the basic guac.

diversedancer wrote:Has anybody added small chunks of tomato, maybe onion to fake guac? That would, to me, cover at least 50% of the texture issues.

Once again, the gist is "fake guac" is not meant to replicate "guacamole per se, but salsa de aguacate, aka, guacamole taquero or guacamole salsa, something you find with salsas at taquerias."At least you, DD, did not recommend using aquafaba. I lost a bet with myself

ronnie_suburban wrote:Based on their appearance, I found what I'm pretty sure were calabacitas at the Golf Mill Fresh Farms today. Tucked between the fresh fava beans and the zucchini, they were billed as Lita squash . . .

ronnie_suburban wrote:Even having amped these components up in my inaugural batch, per your musings, I thought it could have benefited from further punching up.

I bounced up the jalapeno/garlic quite a bit, still might go even further. Slightly more salt and added the juice from one lime. The batch with lime seemed brighter, highlighting the vegetal notes. A good thing.

On another slightly odd note, I noticed a dent in my Vitamix and my French Omelette pan out on the counter, I have no idea how it got there.

G Wiv wrote:"jazzfood
the green salsa may be lettuce. i make one in a high speed blender or food processor with jalapeno's, cilantro, lettuce, drizzled cold o oil and s and p. you emulsify it all together, which gives it a creamy consistency. also has the herbal overtones, plus looks like guac. for added heat, you can use a habenero instead."

Just made a batch of lettuce salsa, as outlined though I added fresh garlic, lime and used grapeseed oil. Quite tasty, would be great as a drizzle on steak or chicken tacos. Creamy and has, not unlike "fake guac" a thinned out guac appearance/mouthfeel.

I've made this before, but not for a while, forgot how simple and tasty. If I get in the mood I might do a fried jalapeno salsa later tonight.

All aboard the Fake Guacamole Train!

I followed the recipe linked by Gary. I used the same Lita squash from FF that Ron found. My only tweak to the recipe...I added a bit more salt. Not bad! My only gripe is that I probably over pureed it a bit. Maybe it'll thicken up a bit overnight.

Dave148 wrote:All aboard the Fake Guacamole Train!

I followed the recipe linked by Gary. I used the same Lita squash from FF that Ron found. My only tweak to the recipe...I added a bit more salt. Not bad! My only gripe is that I probably over pureed it a bit. Maybe it'll thicken up a bit overnight.

My batch thickened up significantly after sitting in the fridge overnight.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Dave148 wrote:All aboard the Fake Guacamole Train!

I followed the recipe linked by Gary. I used the same Lita squash from FF that Ron found. My only tweak to the recipe...I added a bit more salt. Not bad! My only gripe is that I probably over pureed it a bit. Maybe it'll thicken up a bit overnight.

My batch thickened up significantly after sitting in the fridge overnight.

=R=

Thanks for the update.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Dave148 wrote:All aboard the Fake Guacamole Train!

I followed the recipe linked by Gary. I used the same Lita squash from FF that Ron found. My only tweak to the recipe...I added a bit more salt. Not bad! My only gripe is that I probably over pureed it a bit. Maybe it'll thicken up a bit overnight.

My batch thickened up significantly after sitting in the fridge overnight.

=R=

Ditto. I made some al pastor on the grill today and when I went to get the salsa from the fridge, it was practically gelled. Had to stir it with a fork to get it to a reasonable consistency.

As did mine, gelled that is. Tomatillos have a fair amount of pectin in them. A little stirring and it opens up quickly.

Bride and sister in-law tasted both "fake guac" and lettuce salsa, I asked which they liked better. Answer, fake guac, I think because it was less spicy, both were surprised there was no avocado in either.

G Wiv wrote:On another slightly odd note, I noticed a dent in my Vitamix and my French Omelette pan out on the counter, I have no idea how it got there.

Weird stuff happening, I caught the Vitamix trying to puree my Omelette book. Either that or they were attempting to mate.