Apple-Fennel Guacamole

By ldelmas

Makes about 3 cups)

Ideas for serving: This is a guacamole to put on a dress-up table with lots of fresh vegetables for dipping, maybe some garlic toasts or grilled pita, even some rustic tortilla chips. That said, my favorite way to serve it is as a condiment with grilled chicken or fish on an Indian-summer afternoon sitting in my backyard, which happens far too infrequently.

Ingredients

• 1 medium fennel bulb, stalks and fronds cut off
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt
• 1/2 medium apple (a crisp-textured one like Granny Smith works here), peeledd, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 ripe medium-large avocados
• 1 generous teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 large fresh Serrano or 1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded if you wish and finely chopped

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the fennel bulb in half, and then cut each half into 3 wedges. Lay them in a single layer in a small baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil. Measure in ¼ cup water, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, cover with foil and slide into oven. Bake until the fennel is tender, about 1 hour. Cool.

Remove the fennel to a cutting board and pull off any exterior layers that seem fibrous. Cut out and discard the pieces of core that hold each wedge together, then chop the remainder into tiny pieces – the tinier the better.

While the fennel is cooking, scoop the apple into a bowl, sprinkle it with the lime juice and toss to combine. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

Cut the avocados in half, running a knife around the pit from top to bottom and back up again. Twist the halves in opposite directions to release the pit from one side of each avocado. Remove the pit, and then scoop the flesh from each half into a large bowl. With an old-fashioned potato masher, a large fork or the back of a large spoon, coarsely mash the avocado.

Add the thyme, chopped green chile, apples (including all the lime juice) and half of the chopped fennel to the avocado and stir to combine. (Refrigerate the remaining fennel to add to a salad or pasta dish.) Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until serving time.

When you’re ready for the guacamole, scoop it into a serving dish and carry it to your guests.