This past Sunday, I participated in MANNA’s first annual
Guac-Off. MANNA is an amazing
organization that provides nourishing meals and nutritional counseling to
people with acute and chronic illnesses.
When I first heard of the Guac-Off, I signed up on a whim, because it’s
a great cause and why the heck wouldn’t I sign up for a guacamole competition?
Well, a good reason would have been the fact that I did not
actually have a guacamole recipe. I
mean, I often make guacamole, but it’s usually more of a see-what’s-in-the-fridge-and-mix-it-up-until-it-tastes-good
type of thing rather than an actual recipe.
So I searched online for authentic, fun, and/or interesting guacamole
recipes, had a party in my backyard, and forced my friends to taste test five
different combinations (I really had to twist their arms for that…) and vote on
their favorite. The clear winner was the
pomegranate mango guacamole (though I was partial to the corn chipotle one
myself). So I took that, continued to
work on it, and came up with what I can only humbly call an awesome bowl of
guac.
The mango blends in nicely with the creamy texture of the
avocados, and the pomegranate seeds provide an excellent crunch and bright
burst of flavor. This recipe also
highlights the fruit with a ton of citrus goodness and a solid kick from red
pepper flakes. It’s basically a party in
your mouth. I knew it would be perfect
for the competition.
All the competitors |
There were 10 teams total at the Guac-Off, three of which
included professional chefs. The judges
were the head chef at MANNA, Keith Lucas, and food writer Drew Lazor, and the
whole competition was MCed by drag queen extraordinaire, Miss Brittany Lynn. The event was sold out, and in the end we
raised close to $3,000, enough to feed hundreds of people.
The judges and the MC |
The winner, Chef Robert Legget of Guerilla Ultima food truck |
I personally was overwhelmed by the fact that I was making
food for so many people, in front of so many people, and being judged up
against professionals. Overall, I’m
super proud of how my guacamole did (I came in second place for the Peoples’
Choice Award) and am incredibly happy that I got to participate in such a fun
event and help raise any kind of money and/or awareness for such an amazing
organization. I will definitely be back
next year, though I’m not quite sure how I’m going to top this guacamole recipe…
Pomegranate Mango
Guacamole
Adapted from Gourmet,
serves 8
Ingredients:
4 avocados
1 large mango
1 pomegranate
1 small to medium clove garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more or less, to taste)
Juice of 2 limes
Salt, to taste
Directions:
1. Peel the mango and cut the flesh off from around the
core. Dice the mango into small,
bite-sized pieces and set aside. Seed
the pomegranate (watch this
video for the absolute best method) and set the seeds aside as well.
2. Cut the avocados
in half and discard the pits. Scoop out
the flesh into a mixing bowl and smash with a fork. I like to keep my guacamole on the chunkier
side, but continue smashing until the avocado is the consistency you prefer. Pastry blenders are also fantastic tools for
this if you’re making a large amount.
3. Add the diced
mango, pomegranate seeds, minced onion and garlic, and lime juice to the
avocados and mix to incorporate. Adjust
the salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
Serve immediately, or cover by laying the plastic wrap directly on top
of the guacamole and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Serve cold or room temperature with chips of
some sort.
Enjoy!
Wow what a fantastic idea, never thought to use pomegranate with guacamole, sounds delicious and I love the color! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
shut up...this is probably the most brilliant thing I have ever seen! I am getting hungry just reading this post. I looooove guac, but i have never seen it with mango and pomegranate. seriously amazing. also that guac-off looks like so much fun! congrats on second place!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You were awesome in the #MANNAguacoff! I loved this recipe! TY
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I can't wait for next year!
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