Avocado Salsa

Preparation

Slice the avocado in half, lengthwise, around the pit. Once you separate the two halves, the easiest way to remove the pit is to (carefully) plunge the edge of your knife blade into the pit, give a gentle twist and then lift it straight out. It’s the neatest and simplest way I’ve found to accomplish the task.

Remove the avocado from the shell by inserting a spoon along the side between the shell and the fruit, sliding the spoon around the perimeter and underneath the avocado fruit. The fruit will lift out in one big piece. Put it on a cutting board and dice it. Repeat this process with all three avocados and place the diced fruit into a medium mixing bowl. (You can throw away the shells, but as you can see from the picture above, I washed them and used them as bowls for the salsa. It’s a fun way to present it.)

Add the zest and the lemon juice, to keep the avocado fresh and prevent it from darkening. The original recipe called for lime juice and I have no doubt that would be delicious, but I rarely have limes on hand and almost always have lemons. I also add the zest because I love the brightness and zip it gives to the salsa’s flavor. It’s so incredibly summery.

How much lemon you use, will be dependent on your own tastes and the juiciness of the lemons you use. I only needed one large lemon for this batch, but when I have had smaller lemons, that didn’t have as much juice, I have used 2. The salsa doesn’t need to be standing in juice, but you do want it to be flavorful and moist.

Toss the avocado with the zest and lemon juice to make sure each piece is coated. If you don’t have a zester, just use the smallest grates on your grater to zest the lemon and be sure to only get the bright yellow zest, none of the bitter white pith, underneath. I don’t have a fancy juicer. I use the heel of my hand to roll the lemon back and forth on the counter a few times, which loosens the juice from the membranes. Then, I cut it in half and squeeze the halves into the bowl, using my hand as a “sieve” to catch any seeds.

Now dice the tomato. I do small dices on these ingredients, especially if using it for chips. Cut the tomato in half lengthwise. Then slice each half in half, again, lengthwise. Turn the slices and cut into long strips. Turn again, and cut across the vertical strips to make a small dice. Add it into the bowl. Add the minced onion and cilantro into the bowl.

Add the garlic powder and fresh black pepper. All those ingredients, in the bowl look gorgeous! You’ll want to just take a spoon and dig in!

Mix everything together and serve with your favorite corn chips. I rinsed the hollowed out avocado shells and served the salsa in those, but you could definitely just leave it in the mixing bowl to serve it.

Enjoy!