Not Quite Guacamole Avocado Spread

Tamara Novacoviç with her own personal creative take on that delicious Mexican national side dish.
By Tamara Novacoviç

I call this guacamole but I’m aware that it can’t be called a true Guacamole, since I decided to give it a slight twist..and add cottage cheese to it. You can use cream cheese for creamier texture. You can also use sour cream. So, we can call it “avocado spread“. I like my guacamole with tiny chunks in it, that’s why I don’t puree it until completely smooth. I also like it with the addition of tomatoes. I used fresh parsley leaves instead of coriander  just because there is no fresh coriander on the markets of my town…But I added dry powdered version of it that I keep in a tiny bottle among my precious spices. Basically, I went with what is available in the markets in my country.

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Avocado is such a beautiful fruit…yes, fruit. Two years ago I thought avocado was a vegetable. I associate fruit with sweetness or sourness and avocado is not sweet nor sour, it is more neutral. Then I tried guacamole for the first time and wanted to learn more about avocado, which resulted in previously mentioned fruity discovery. You see, avocado, mango, papaya and similar fruit are really exotic here and hard to find in this part of Europe. In the last couple of years there has been much better choice on our markets, but ten years ago you couldn’t see this kind of fruit anywhere here.
I really like avocado and guacamole is probably my favorite avocado dish. Then there is avocado-mango salad and savory version of avocado-tomato salad. I have to try avocado ice cream too-my next project. I tend to buy firmer ones, because I don’t usually make the dish the same day I buy it. I let it stand on room temperature for 2 days and it ripens. Plus firmer avocados are pretty and undamaged. If you make guacamole ahead, cover its surface with cling film so it doesn’t change color and becomes brown.