Greeks don’t traditionally cook with avocados. (They don’t have a lot of “lettuce” these days either, but that’s another story.)
Avocados are gaining in popularity in Greece. Conditions are suited to its production and there is a fledgling industry with some groves in Messinia, where my cousins live. Avocados are naturally suited to Greek cuisine, and are especially complementary to a Greek salad.
I also love guacamole. I had some avocados and spinach at home, and started playing around. One of my problems is that I don’t know when to stop, and I end up adding one too many ingredients. This extends to other aspects of my character, which recently caused me to tell an ill-timed joke in a case evaluation that went awry. But that too, is another story.
This guacamole started out innocently enough. I chopped the spinach finely, added garlic and green onions, and half of a seeded jalapeno. I could have stopped there, but no. I added a bit of olive oil and offered my daughter a taste. We decided it needed lemon, but I didn’t have any, and she wouldn’t go to the store for me even after I offered her a million dollars and my consent for a tattoo. So I had to go myself.
After adding lemon, the guac was good enough at that point. But I kept adding more. A dollop of plain yogurt really made it sing. I should have stopped there, but no!
It was also good with chopped tomato, diced feta, and chopped dill in various permutations. I think chopped red pepper may have been prettier and a better taste complement; I will leave these to you as optional garnishes. In the meantime, I present to you my own ethnic alternative to a summer favorite.
Greek Guacamole
Two avocados, mashed
One half-pound spinach, chopped fine like parsley
Two green onions, chopped fine
One clove garlic, minced
1/2 finely diced hot pepper, jalapeno or Hungarian (milder)
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Fage 2%, or Wallaby Organic lowfat are good)
juice of 1/2 small lemon, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
optional garnishes: a few ounces of finely diced feta, chopped dill, chopped sweet red pepper
Directions:
1. Hand-mix all the ingredients, and top with any optional garnishes.
2. Serve with pita chips, multi-grain chips, or raw vegetables.
Delicious, and you won’t have to go bankrupt buying the ingredients. If you happen to not like it, blame the European Union.
Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard and Walker, P.C., a litigation firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for “Current” magazine in Ann Arbor. He occasionally updates his blog at http://mayitpleasethepalate.blogspot.com/.
