Guacamole Piquante

° Makes 4 cups

I like my guacamole fairly well seasoned. The important factor is the ripeness of the avocados, of course. They should yield to the touch but not have turned brown. Serve the guacamole with packaged natural fried corn chips, or with store-bought corn or flour tortillas that you fry yourself.

• ¾ cup diced (¼-inch pieces) red onion
• 4 avocados (about 2 pounds) preferably organic
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (1 teaspoon)
• 1 very ripe tomato (about 4 ounces), halved, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice (1 cup)
• 2 scallions, minced (⅓ cup)
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• Corn chips or fresh or frozen tortillas, prepared according to the package instructions, for serving

Rinse the red onion in a sieve under cold water, drain, and pat dry.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and set aside, and spoon the flesh into a bowl. Mash it coarsely with a fork or potato masher. Add the red onion, garlic, tomato, scallions, lime juice, olive oil, salt, Tabasco, and jalapeño, if using. Stir well, then embed the avocado pits in the mixture (see Note). Cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it directly against the surface of the guacamole, and set aside until ready to serve.

At serving time, remove the avocado pits and stir some of the cilantro into the guacamole. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top, and serve with chips.

Note: You can make the guacamole ahead of time. It won’t turn brown if you submerge the avocado pits in the mixture and cover it tightly as described above.

Another way to prevent the avocado from turning brown is to rinse the avocado flesh under cold water.