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Community Corner

Elizabeth Rafeedie's Yummy Guacamole

"It's the technique, not any secret ingredient," the Malibu resident promises.

I don't know how I missed out on Elizabeth Rafeedie's fantastic guacamole up until now.

It's her go-to potluck dish, and she brings it everywhere! People not only expect it from her, but crave it and fall upon it when they see the dish. Where have I been?

If you've been around Malibu sports, you no doubt know Rafeedie (and her husband Fred). She's been coaching and assistant coaching youth sports for the past seven years—AYSO soccer (U6, U7, U8, U10 and division director), three years of T-ball, three years of Middles baseball, and even flag football.

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Her three sons—Matthew, 13, Adam, 11, and Daniel, 9—were her impetus. From necessity comes invention, so Rafeedie, who grew up expressing her athleticism by running track and dancing Ballet Folklorico in east L.A., taught herself to coach. 

"In my culture (she was born in Mexico), back then, we did not have boys and girls playing on the same teams. Boys were on teams, and girls were kept at home,” Rafeedie recalled. So team sports were a bit foreign to her as a younger mother.   

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Elizabeth and Fred began coaching youth sports together.

"He grew up in Malibu and played team sports, so I was under his tutelage," she said. "He taught me how to coach. Then I expanded my skills by reading, going on Youtube and watching the style of other coaches."

Soon, there was a need for both of them to coach separate teams, and so she branched out.

"It was so gratifying to see the kids improve—when you taught them the basic skills, and from there they gained confidence, and from that confidence they gained the competitive edge," she said.

With three active boys, suffice it to say there have been lots and lots of potlucks and reasons to bring the guac. I tasted it recently at a season-ending baseball party for my sons Middles team, the Rockies. Rafeedie was one of the assistant coaches, and arrived at the party bearing a large bowl of avocado bliss.

"I always bring it because people like it, and I never come home with an empty bowl," she said. "Kids will always eat it too, which I like. It's a dish that is easy to make for me, and people seem to like it."

Rafeedie is often asked for the recipe, and while she is happy to share it, she's sheepish about it.

"I wish I could tell you I had a secret ingredient in mine, but really, it's pretty ordinary," she said. "I never think of it as spectacular. I think, 'Well, doesn't everyone make guacamole?’ The secret is that it needs to be chunky, not mashed. It's really not so much a recipe, but the technique."

Rafeedie has advice. Let's have her coach us through it:

  1. "You want the chunks of avocado to be 1/4-1/2 inch. I hold the avocado half in the palm of my hand, and, using a knife, I score it vertically first—I get about five lines there, and then horizontally. Then I get a tablespoon and scoop it from the top to the bottom, so I don't disturb or mash the pieces."
  2. If making it for adults, she likes to add finely chopped cilantro, and Serrano peppers, which she finds a bit spicier and with a thinner skin than Jalapenos. She will leave these two ingredients out if she is serving it to kids.
  3. She prefers firm steak tomatoes. "Any kind of tomato that is a little firm; you don’t want it too ripe, you don't want the tomato mashed. You want to feel the crunchiness of the tomatoes. I won't make guacamole if the tomato is too mushy or is so ripe the juice squirts out too much!"
  4. Don't put in too much lemon juice. "You should not have lemonade in there, definitely!"
  5. When you mix it, do it with a fork. "If you use a big spoon, you will mash it too much. And use the fork just a little bit. It's like, if you think of a hair pick for your afro, that’s the way to mix it," she said with a laugh."

ELIZABETH RAFEEDIE'S YUMMY GUACAMOLE

1 medium white onion, diced
1 medium-large steak tomato, diced (Roma tomatoes also work well)
Cilantro, chopped finely (optional)
Serrano chile, chopped finely (optional)
4 ripe avocados
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (salt to taste)
1/2 a lemon or lime (for juice)

In a bowl, add onions and tomatoes (and cilantro and Serrano peppers if using). Cut avocados in half, remove and save pits. Cradling avocado half in the palm of your hand, cut vertical and horizontal slices (as described in her tips above). Using a spoon, spoon out avocado pieces and place in bowl with onions and tomatoes. Using a fork, mix gently to avoid mashing the avocado. Add salt and squeeze lemon over the top of guacamole (avoid too much lemon so as not make guacamole runny), and use the fork to stir again gently to mix. Add pits for garnishing and authenticity. Chill or serve immediately.

To keep the guacamole from turning brown, cover the surface of the guacamole with Saran wrap. The Saran wrap should touch the guacamole to form a barrier against the air, and should extend all the way to the edge of the bowl. This helps to reduce the air exposure to the guacamole and prevent it from browning.  

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