Puesto, the San Diego-based gourmet street-taco restaurant, values guacamole so much that they offer diners three kinds: the Classic, made with avocado, cilantro, onion, habanero and fresh-squeezed lime and orange; the Puesto Perfect, which is the classic plus Parmigiano-Reggiano; and Guacamole Nogada. The latter is inspired by the traditional fall Mexican dish, chiles en nogada, which features roasted poblanos are stuffed with meats and fruits and topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.
For Puesto’s guacamole take on the theme, executive creative chef Katy Smith and her team use mango salsa to represent the sweetness of chiles en nogada and add candied walnuts, arbol chile powder and pomegranate seeds.
“It’s just the perfect bite in my opinion,” Smith says.
Make it and taste for yourself. All three guacamoles are available at the Puesto locations in Concord and Santa Clara.
Puesto’s Guacamole Nogada
Serves 8 or more
Ingredients:
1 ounce dried chile de arbol
½ cup white onion, diced
½ ripe mango, peeled and cut into into ¼-inch cubes
1 Roma tomato, cut into ¼-inch cubes
½ habanero, stems and seeds removed, finely diced
6 tablespoons cilantro, leaves & tender stems, chopped
3 ripe avocados
1 lime, squeezed
¼ orange, squeezed
1/8 grapefruit, squeezed
2 tablespoons candied walnuts
3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
Kosher salt to taste
Directions:
Remove the arbol chile stems, add chiles to a blender and blend until completely pulverized. Set the powdered chiles aside.
For the mango pico, combine the diced white onion, mango, tomato, habanero, cilantro and
a scant ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Cut avocados in half, remove pit and scoop out flesh into large bowl. Mash avocados, leaving a few chunks. Add the lime, orange and grapefruit juices to the mashed avocado.
Fold 3 cups of the mango pico and ½ teaspoon salt into the mashed avocado. Taste and
add more salt if needed. Scoop avocado into a serving bowl. Garnish with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the remaining pico, pomegranate seeds, the candied walnuts and a sprinkling of arbol powder.
— Courtesy of Katy Smith, Puesto executive creative chef
