For Darren Mercaldi, executive chef at Hotel Jesus and Mamasita, Mexican cuisine is all about the social occasion. “Most Mexican food is sharing orientated,” says Mercaldi. “[In Mexico] they’ll sit down and have whole legs of lamb torn apart with tortillas and condiments on the side.” In his experience, everything is done with communal dining in mind.
Central to that is guacamole. “If you want to put on a bit of a show, you could make the guacamole look nice and serve that as a starter for a dinner party or get-together with friends,” says Mercaldi. At its most basic you can get away with nothing more than mashed avocado and salt, but Mercaldi says it’s about ratios. “People don’t put enough lime into it,” he says. “It gives it a nice, zesty freshness.” Pair it with a tequila seltzer like Rey Loco Tequila and Lime to lean into the zingy mouthfeel.
Mercaldi’s recipe leans toward the traditional. If you want to emulate it, be a little restrained when it comes to avocado mashing. “A lot of people assume it should be quite smooth,” says Mercaldi. “That’s not the case. It should be quite chunky. If I do it quite traditionally at Hotel Jesus, people will say it’s too chunky.”
There’s another traditional Mexican ingredient Mercaldi likes: avocado leaf. Not often used in guacamole, you’ll find it in traditional Mexican cuisine. “I have some avocado trees at home so I deep-fried them and had a taste over the guac,” he says. “It gives a nice aniseed element to the dish.”
Finding avocado leaf in Australian shops can be tough. “Put an ad up on your Facebook community page,” suggests Mercaldi. “[Surely] a few people around your neighbourhood will have an avocado tree that [might] let you pinch a few leaves.”
If you find one, gently heat some oil in a pan and place the leaf in. “It’ll go a nice bright green colour – you don’t want to fry it so it comes out like a chip,” he says. Place the leaf whole on top of the guacamole, or crumble it through.
Serve alongside your favourite tortilla chips or, really, whatever you and your guests fancy. “You can have it with Salada biscuits, Savoys, crackers,” says Mercaldi. “The possibilities are endless.”
Darren Mercaldi’s guacamole
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 avocados
6g salt
100ml lime juice
100g tomato, diced (5mm)
50g onion, diced (5mm)
50g pickled jalapeno, diced (5mm)
1 avocado leaf (optional)
Method:
Cut avocados in half, de-seed and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, then mash with a potato masher or fork. Season liberally with salt and lime juice, and then fold through tomato, onion and jalapeno.
In 50ml of cooking oil, fry the avocado leaf on low heat (around 140°C) for about 20 seconds. To serve, top the guacamole with the fried leaf and serve with your favourite tortilla chips.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Rey Loco.
