Ripe avocado blended with lime juice, mayonnaise, onion and cilantro into a sauce you pour rather than scoop. Five minutes, and it goes over anything fried.
A sauce, not a guacamole
The two get confused constantly and they are used completely differently.
Guacamole is mashed. It keeps pieces of avocado in it, it is served in a bowl, and you scoop it up with something. It is a dish in its own right.
This goes in the blender with oil and mayonnaise until it is smooth enough to pour from a jug. It is not served on its own; it goes over things. Patacones, empanadas, chicharrón, a hot dog, a piece of grilled meat, all get a stripe of it across the top.
Two avocados make about two cups, which is a lot of sauce, and that is the right amount because it is used generously.
The lime is doing two jobs
Four tablespoons for two avocados sounds like a great deal of acid, and it is deliberate.
The first job is flavour: avocado is fatty and mild and it needs something sharp against it, and the mayonnaise adds more fat rather than balancing it. The lime is the only thing in the recipe cutting through.
The second is chemistry. Avocado browns on contact with air, and acid slows the enzyme responsible. It does not stop it, but a sauce with this much lime in it stays green for hours rather than minutes.
And it is lime, not lemon. Colombian recipes say limón, which is the small green one.
Blend in the order given
The three steps look interchangeable and they are not.
Avocado, oil and lime first, so the fat and acid emulsify with the flesh into a smooth base. Then the mayonnaise, onion and seasoning, which go into something already stable. Then the cilantro last, with only a short blend.
That last part matters. Cilantro blended for any length of time turns the whole sauce a dull olive green and the flavour goes flat. A few seconds is enough to distribute it.
Make it late
This is not a sauce to prepare in the morning for the evening.
Even with the lime, it darkens at the surface within a couple of hours, and while it still tastes fine it looks like something left over. Made within the hour of serving it is bright green.
If it has to wait, press cling film directly onto the surface so there is no air between the two. Not over the bowl: on the sauce.
More things to pour it on
- Patacones — the classic pairing.
- Colombian empanadas — and the other one.
- Colombian ají — the sharp sauce.
- Hogao — the tomato one.
Avocado Sauce FAQ
No, and the difference is the texture. Guacamole is mashed and chunky and you scoop it; this is blended smooth with oil and mayonnaise until it pours, and it goes over food rather than being dipped into.
Lime. Colombian recipes say limón, which is the small green lime, not the yellow lemon. It is sharper and it is what the sauce is built around.
Patacones, empanadas, chicharrón, grilled meat, hot dogs. Anything fried, essentially. It is a pouring sauce for a plate rather than something served in its own bowl.
The four tablespoons of lime juice slow it considerably, which is why there are so many. Beyond that, press cling film onto the surface so no air touches it, and make it within an hour of serving.
It should give under a thumb without feeling hollow. An underripe one will not blend smooth and tastes of nothing; an overripe one goes grey and bitter.
You can, and it will be lighter and sharper, but the mayonnaise is what makes it pour and keeps it from separating. Add a little more oil if you skip it.
A day in the fridge with film on the surface. It will darken at the edges whatever you do.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados (they should give under a thumb)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (limon in Colombia is the green lime, not the yellow lemon)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ onion
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chili hot sauce (optional)
Notas
Instructions
- Peel the avocados and take the stones out. Chop them and put them in the blender with the oil and the lime juice. Blend.
- Add the mayonnaise, the onion, salt, pepper and the hot sauce if you are using it. Blend again.
- Add the chopped cilantro and give it one more short blend.
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