No Mexican fare is complete without this delicious side. It has to be one of my favourite things to eat at any time of day, whether it’s partnered with spicy fajitas, piled onto melting cheese nachos or simply spread on thickly sliced toast – a personal favourite. Made right, this is comfort food at it’s best and it’s super healthy. Avocados do have one of the highest fat and calorie contents a fruit can have, but it’s all good healthy fats to make you glow. Your hair, skin and nails will thank you for this one.

The first trick to making a decent guacamole is using ripe avocados. It sounds obvious enough, but people often get this part wrong. You’ll know they’re ripe if they give a little when squeezed. If it’s under-ripe, it’ll be firm and quite unappealing, almost bitter to eat. I always get my avocados fresh from a market stall because they usually have better quality, size and price over regular supermarkets. One of my favourite local fruit and veg markets is Kingston’s Ancient Market in the suburbs of London – a quaint historical location, friendly traders and great value – I’ll do a post on my favourite London markets soon.

In true form, this recipe uses all the classic flavours that go into a tasty homemade guac and there’s the second trick – salt for balance, crushed garlic for a kick, diced tomatoes for freshness, chilli for heat, spring onions for texture, lime juice to cut through the rich buttery avocado and good quality olive oil to bring everything together. That’s it! It’s such a simple recipe but will bring your meals to life with vibrant green colour, fresh flavours and a beautifully creamy texture. Try it with my American sweet potato pancakes – it’s a dreamy combo. If you’re not keen on avocados, you’ll be hooked once you’ve made this guacamole.

Serves 2-4 | Prep: 10 mins

For the guacamole: 

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 beef tomato
• 1 spring onion
• 1/2 lime
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes or 1/2 a fresh chilli
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Olive oil

Step one: Run a sharp knife along the middle of the avocado, around the entire fruit til it meets the start point. Twist in opposite directions with your hands and it should come apart, stone intact. Use a sharp knife to tap and remove the stone. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a bowl and mash gently. Tricky part, done!

Step two: Chop and remove the flesh of the tomato then dice into small chunks. I ended up using half of the tomato because they’re quite big and juicy, but you could add more if you wish. Chop the spring onion and crush the garlic cloves. Add all three ingredients to the avocado.

Step three: Season to taste with salt, pepper, chilli, a good squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix everything together, but not too much as you want some texture remaining.

Step four: Garnish with a few spring onions and chilli flakes, then devour.