Guacamole de abue (Granny's Guac)

Every now and then, my mother tells us, "my mother used to say that to make a great guacamole, all you needed was a good avocado and garlic." This version of guacamole has that as its base and forgoes the onion and tomato. This is the guacamole that I prefer and always make for my guests, and this is closer to the guacamole served in taco restaurants in Mexico City.

This version of guacamole requires some time before it is served, because of the garlic. Let the garlic and other ingredients "meet and mingle."

I don't measure ingredients, but I added quantities as guidelines, so everything is "to taste."

Ingredients

2 large or 4-5 smal avocados

1 tsp Mexican Knorr chicken bouillon

2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

2 or 3 fresh serrano or 1 fresh jalapeño peppers, finely chopped

a drizzle of olive oil

juice from pickled jalapeño peppers or lime juice

some fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

crumbled cotija or panela cheese, for garnishing.

Using a mortar (or ideally, a molcajete--a volcanic stone mortar), crush the garlic, finely chopped coriander and hot peppers to form a paste.

Mash the avocados in a separate bowl. Add salt and mix, keep tasting the mash until the seasoning is correct.

Add the previous paste, the oil, juice and roughly chopped coriander leaves to the avocado mash and mix. (If you are using a molcajete, add the avocado mash to the paste in the molcajete and mix there.) Leave to season for 1/2 hour.

When you are ready to serve the guacamole, sprinkle with the crumbled cheese. Instead of Cotija cheese you could use a cow milk feta; instead of panela, you can use a farmer's or fresh cheese. Serve with pork rinds or home-made corn chips.

Notes

See notes for basic guacamole.

If you prefer not to have MSG, skip the chicken bouillon and use salt, instead.