Amá’s Guacamole

At his Los Angeles restaurant Bar Amá, chef Josef Centeno lightens his guacamole with an unusual ingredient: grated celery. The effect is surprisingly delightful! We adapted the recipe from Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen, which Centeno wrote with Betty Hallock. We reviewed the book in September 2020.

Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients

1/2 garlic clove

2 celery stalks

4 avocados

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (leaves and soft stems), finely chopped (about 2 to 3 ounces before the big stems are removed)

1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

Instructions

1. Grate the garlic with a fine Microplane grater into a large bowl. Grate the celery on the smallest holes of a box grater into the bowl. Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into the bowl with a spoon, being careful not to tear through the skin. Discard the skin. Add the cilantro, red onion, serrano chile, lime juice and salt.

2. Mash the ingredients together with a fork, using a cut-and-fold motion, so the ingredients are well combined but the mixture stays very chunky. Taste and add more lime juice and/or salt if needed. Serve immediately, with tortilla chips.