Fuerte Guacamole

Fuerte's - A Winter Fruit

Fuerte Avocados are little, black/green dino-eggs of supercalifragalisticexpialodocious-bombs of deliciousness. People get downright greedy and stingy over their Fuertes. Hoard them like gold. The friends and neighbors who have them stingily hand out 1 or 2 (tops).

The farmers often don't (or won't?!?) sell them (I personally think they eat them, laughing maniacally behind their barn doors, as I walk away, rejected...). "Hey, come back!" they say -- "I got a lot of Bacons!!"  "Yeah?! Who doesn't buddy!!" I want to yell at them in mid February...  (Fuerte's and Bacons ripen at about the same time, in mid-winter).

Anyway -- IF and WHEN I get Fuerte's -- I often DON'T make guacamole with them. They are few and far between and deserve to be eaten in a simple manner - cut open, sprinkled with lemon juice, and a liberal sprinkle of Australian (flakey) sea salt. And downed. YUM!!

When I'M not being greedy -- I ship them to our monthly Diva Club members.  If you get a Fuerte in your monthly package -- it's usually wrapped INDIVIDUALLY in bubble wrap and marked clearly as a Fuerte. (Anything in it's own bubble-wrap from the Diva is very, very special...hint, hint).

So don't be emailing me wanting Fuertes to order. I get so few, that they go out to our loyal monthly members -- and yes, I do have favorites... hee hee. (But I try and pass my "avocado love" around to various members over the course of the year).

Anyway -- once in a while I will come across a "nest" of Fuertes. Perhaps at a Farmer's Market or if I find a ranch that has 2 or 3 trees of them -- and a rancher who doesn't care ("those are just for pollination", he'll say, stomping past the tree...).  My eyes glaze over and I ask if I can buy them anyway... he almost always looks at me like I'm crazy - "sure - if you want 'em...but you gotta pick 'em"  (he has no idea how delicious they are... even if they are kinda small and ugly).

Fuerte Guacamole - note the lack of tomatos, onions or  cilantro. 

So if you are lucky enough to gather 3 - 5 of these little bombs of heaven - here is my guacamole recommendation:

FUERTE GUACAMOLE: 
1. Slice open the fruit -- eat one or two slices while nobody is looking.
2. Cube up the fruit (eat another chunk or two on the sly).
3. Sprinkle with fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice (not too much - you don't want to mask the taste, just keep the avocado from going brown. Be SURE and taste to make sure you didn't use too much).
4. Salt it with good, flakey, sea salt. (Again, I ALWAYS taste to make sure I didn't add too much).
5. Add a touch of garlic powder (one last taste or two...)
6. Oops. There is hardly any left... might as well finish it.
7. Eat with something that will not mask the flavor (e.g. -- cucumber slices! Corn chips are almost too salty. Do NOT use something really over-flavored like Doritos Nacho Flavor !! That would be unwise.)
8. Make a BIG bowl of guacamole with Bacon avocados (which are ALSO delicious and in WIDE abundance!!) -- serve that to the other people.

The Diva