Dress Up Your Dip – The Ultimate Bacon Tomato Guacamole

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was Rick Bayless’s new book, Fiesta at Rick’s. And the very first recipe inside? Bacon and Tomato Guacamole.

Though you made not have thought of it, it certainly makes sense. The BLT is a classic, and salty bacon and creamy avocado are some of the staples of California cuisine. 

So, last night, I tried it. And it’s definitely better than I thought it would be. It doesn’t just taste like regular guac with some crumbled bacon. The addition of the bacon makes the tomatoes, even crummy December tomatoes, stand out, and the use of canned chipotles is a welcome switch from fresh green chiles.

This is a perfect option to serve for New Year’s Eve. It somehow tastes like summer, and still totally works for any special occassion, regardless of the season.

Bacon Tomato Guacamole serves 6-8 as a starter

• 5 strips medium-thick bacon (full-flavored smoky bacon is great here)
• 3 medium-large (about 1 1/4 pounds) ripe avocados
• 1/2 medium white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 or 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo to taste, removed from the canning sauce, stemmed, slit open, seeds scraped out and finely chopped
• 1 medium-large round, ripe tomato, cored and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed, coarsely chopped, thick bottom stems cut off
• Salt
• 1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

To see how it’s put together, check out Rick’s original recipe at Good Morning America