Barrio Guacamole

Yesterday was Easter and my sister so kindly brought me over an avocado. We both enjoy them immensely and could probably eat then almost every day. Deciding what to do with this luscious green thing was no problem. Cinco De Mayo is a much celebrated holiday here in Arizona and in the southwest and we always celebrate the holiday with this dip.

This recipe is from the Barrio Cafe a popular restaurant that is located somewhat close to downtown Phoenix. The food served there is not the typical Sonoran style Mexican fare that you typically find around town. One of the owner's of Barrio, and it's head chef is Silvana Esparza. Using her culinary training she takes you around the various cuisines unique to the different regions of Mexico. There is no rice or beans on the menu and they make this wonderful chunky guacamole table-side. There are seven ingredients in this dip that are folded gently together and one (of all things) is pomegranate seeds. It's the burst of flavor from this little seed that sends this dip into another category all by itself. Enjoy with a bag of chips or use as a garnish.

Recipe has been slightly adapted from the video posted on line by 3TV and Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza.

Ingredients:

1 avocado
1 heaping tablespoon tomatoes (diced)
1 heaping tablespoon red onion (diced)
1 heaping tablespoon jalapeno (seeded and diced)
1 heaping tablespoon cilantro (diced)
Salt to taste
Juice from 1/2 lime (I used juice from 1 whole lime)
1 heaping tablespoon pomegranate seeds
1 heaping tablespoon roasted unsalted sunflower seeds (my addition)

To prepare:

Dice avocado into small chunks while in it's shell, using a large spoon scoop out into a medium-size bowl. The trick is to not bruise the avocado, keeping it intact as much as possible. Add tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. *In the video she says to add salt before the lime juice, because the lime makes it harder for the salt flavor to come out.*.

Squeeze fresh lime juice over mixture. Fold together gently, add pomegranate and sunflower seeds. Toss carefully. Serve immediately.