Festive Guacamole Appetizers

Labor Day weekend. The traditional marking of summer's public end on this farm: I grill, I eat outside, I note what the season has been. The ribs on the grill with dry rub, the last good corn, the tomatoes still going strong this first week of September. A meal that is summer's farewell, made with summer's best material.

Ted Marchand came for dinner. His daughter is moving back from Burlington — she'd been considering it and she's made the decision. She'll be here by October. He's not pretending to be calm about it. He said: I haven't been this pleased about something in years. I said: I can see that. He said: I keep telling her she doesn't have to, that I'm fine. I said: Ted, you're telling her it's fine because it would make you happy and you don't want to pressure her. He said: yes. I said: she knows that. He said: yes. He ate two portions of ribs and was happy.

The fall crops went in this week — kale, chard, the fall lettuce. The same planting I do every August end, the cold-season crops that will still be producing after the first frosts. The garden preparing for what comes next by planting what the next season needs. Forward motion, even as the summer is ending. You plant the fall while you're still in summer. That's the temporal overlap that gardening teaches.

The ribs take time — that’s part of what makes them right for a day like Labor Day, when you want the meal to feel earned. While the dry rub does its work and the grill gets up to heat, you need something to set out, something that belongs to the season the way the tomatoes and the corn do. These guacamole appetizers are what I put together that afternoon: ripe avocados from the last good summer batch, lime, a little heat, served in small spoonfuls with something sturdy enough to hold them. Ted arrived while I was still finishing them, and we stood at the kitchen counter eating a few before we even went outside. It was a good way to begin a meal that was already going to be a good one.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely minced
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 roma tomato, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup pomegranate arils (or diced mango for a summer variation)
1 bag sturdy tortilla chips, cucumber rounds, or endive leaves for serving
Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

Scoop and mash. Scoop the avocado flesh into a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and kosher salt, then mash with a fork to your preferred texture — leave it a bit chunky for the best result.
Season. Stir in the cumin, garlic powder, jalapeño, and red onion. Fold in the cilantro and diced tomato. Taste and adjust salt and lime as needed.
Arrange the base. Lay out your serving vessels — tortilla chips on a platter, cucumber rounds on a board, or endive leaves arranged like small boats. Spoon a generous mound of guacamole onto each.
Top and finish. Scatter the pomegranate arils (or mango) over each portion for color and sweetness. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
Serve immediately. Guacamole is best eaten fresh. If making more than 15 minutes ahead, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Nutrition (per serving)

Festive Guacamole Appetizers — Something to Set Out Before the Ribs Hit the Table