The first guacamole recipe I wrote included yoghurt and didn't include tomatoes. One of the reasons I did things that way was that I usually made gaucamole to go with chilli sin carne, which has tomatoes in it, and with which I also like to serve a side dish of chopped tomato and coriander salsa. It seemed to me I'd be overdoing the tomatoes a bit if I put them in the guacamole too.
Recently, however, I served up my version of the dish central to the theme of this page, when I was entertaining an old friend. 'This isny guacamole!' he said. 'The stuff ye get fae the supermarket huz tomatoes in it'. You can imagine the kind of witty retort which was on the tip of my tongue at the time but, of course, as it was my old mucker sitting at the opposite side of the table, I kept my mouth shut.
I do know about the tomatoes. I also know how to do the full recipe. It's just that I like to experiment. I like variety. I don't know if I can do the recipe so well that my old mate would be fooled into thinking I got the stuff from his favourite supermarket, but here's a fair version.
We started the other recipe by dealing with the avocados first, but here I'm going to suggest dealing with the tomato first, as it can be a bit fiddly and the avocado will go brown if cut and exposed to the air for too long. So. first we take the tomato and put it in a small bowl or a mug and cover it with boiling water. A minute later we drain off the water and are surprised to find that the tomato peels with ease once a small cut is made in the skin.
Cut the peeled tomato into four pieces, removing the green stalky bit, then scoop out the seeds with your fingers. Chop the cleaned tomato finely and leave it aside while you prepare the avocados.
The avocados are prepared by cutting them in half, removing the stone and scooping out the soft light-green stuff which is often referred to as flesh (though that gives me the creeps). In my first recipe, I suggested planting the seed in a pot of soil and leaving it on the kitchen window ledge to see if it sprouts. Here, I would like to make another suggestion for utilising the parts of your avocado which might otherwise go to waste. I'm going to suggest you take advantage of the free, rich-in-vitamin-E facial treatment which can be obtained simply by turning the skins inside-out and rubbing them over your mosh. Do this while your doing the recipe, but don't forget to wash the green stuff off before you leave the kitchen to serve your guests. You probably won't forget; it gets a bit itchy when it dries.
Take your skinned and deseeded avocado and either mash it up with a fork (the traditional method) or, if you like a bit of texture, chop it over with a big knife until it's in fairly small pieces. Put the avocado in a bowl and mix with all the other ingredients except the garlic, if you're using it (you can use a bit of finely chopped onion instead, if you wish). Lay the peeled garlic clove on a chopping board and give it a good crushing with the flat of a broad knife before chopping it roughly and adding it to the mix.
If you're cooking for a special occasion, sprinkle the guacamole with a little red chilli powder and garnish with a few fresh coriander leaves.
As a snack, try guacamole with tortilla chips or, for something more substantial, see the comments on my earlier recipe.