Jalapeño "Gaucamole" - Lunch on "J" Day

It's lunchtime on "J" day and I'm using JALAPENO PEPPERS

I made Gaucamole. I really love guacamole and the jalapeno peppers don't over power it with too much spice at all! They aren't a really hot pepper and they enhance mostly any dish with that extra "kick" of delish. This gaucamole is oh so creamy with hints of onion, garlic and lime coming through. Yummy!

Servings: 2 - 4 (it's hard to with more, you should double recipe)  

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados
1/4 - 1/2 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small jalapeño, stems and seeds removed, minced
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 - 3 Tbsp of fresh lime juice (I used about 1/2 lime)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
a few grinds of freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Cut the avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a large bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.

*With a Mortar and Pestle

Start with 1 clove of garlic and a dash of salt and mash in mortar till smooth. Add cilantro and 1/2 of onion and mash more. Add remaining onion and jalapeño with more dashes of salt (for extra abrasion) and mash more. Add avocado and mix and mash till nice and chunky consistency (to your liking) Add pepper and lime to taste. This gaucamole tastes sooooo much better in a mortar and pestle (as your breaking down the oils in the garlic, onion, jalapeño and cilantro better) - and it's fun to eat out of too!

JALAPENO PEPPERS

Jalapeños (hah lah pain yo) are mostly green, turning red as they mature. These little peppers are considered medium heat peppers and they derive their heat from the natural plant compound called capsaicin which is found in the inner white membrane and seeds. 

Capsaicin has impressive health benefits, as an anti-inflammatory and a vasodilator. Capsaicin is also "promising" for treatment of cancer because it turns off a certain protein that promotes tumor growth. It has also been shown to help in weight loss, especially hard-to-lose belly fat. 

Cooking reduces the heat in Jalapeños. If you like your food HOT then just leave more of the white membrane intact. 


Jalapeno Pepper
(1)

Potassium  248 mg
Dietary Fiber  2.8 g
Sugar  4.1 g
Protein  0.9 g
Vitamin A  21 %
Vitamin C  197 % - WOW!
Calcium  1 %
Iron  1 %
Vitamin B-6  20 %
Magnesium  3 %


Are you eating Jalapeno Peppers?