Pirate Guacamole
Guacamole made with sugar, lime, and salt. Served with plantain chips. Enjoy it with a glass of Bumbo
City/Region: Panama
Time Period: 1697
Many Europeans wrote about the avocados that they found in the New World, including the English pirate William Dampier, who seemed to be quite a fan. The recipe today comes from his memoirs, and he describes avocados as turning yellow when they’re ripe. Avocados have changed a lot in the last four hundred years, and the kind that he talks about probably don’t exist anymore.
The dish itself, though, does have a modern equivalent in sweet Brazilian creme de abacate. Dampier’s recipe doesn’t have any dairy in it like creme de abacate does, but they are both sweetened. I used piloncillo, Latin American dark brown sugar that is usually sold in cones, but you can use whatever sugar you like. I recommend the piloncillo because it adds a molasses-y complexity that’s lovely. The texture is of guacamole, and the lime juice is a familiar pairing, but the sweetness is really different, but in a good way.
“The Avogato Pear-tree is as big as most Pear-trees…and the Fruit as big as a large Lemon. It is of a green colour, till it is ripe, and then it is a little yellowish…The Substance in the inside is green, or a little yellowish, and as soft as Butter. Within the Substance there is a Stone as big as a Horse-Plumb. This Fruit hath no taste of it self, and therefore ‘tis usually mixt with Sugar and Lime-juice, and beaten together in a Plate; and this is an excellent Dish. The ordinary way to eat it is with a little Salt and a roasted Plantain; and thus a Man that’s Hungry, may make a good Meal of it.”
Ingredients:
- 3 large avocados
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (50 g) grated piloncillo* or granulated sugar
- 2 plantains
- Salt, optional
- Chili powder, optional
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit and the peel. Mash the avocado in a dish (a plate for extra authenticity).
- Mix in the lime juice, salt, and piloncillo.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Thinly slice the plantains and arrange them on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of salt or chili powder if desired. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serve the guacamole forth with the plantain chips and a glass of bumbo.
Notes
- Piloncillo is an unrefined sugar that has lots of layers of flavor like caramel and molasses and is sold in a cone shape that you grate to use.
- Link to piloncillo: https://amzn.to/3wKXcdD
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