Recipe for Avocado dip (Guacamole) – from 'La cucina delle spezie' by David Sheen, with the kind permission of Panozzo Editore, Rimini , tried and tested, and translated by Franita in the kitchen, for Three Monkeys Online.

It was the Aztecs who discovered avocado: they considered it a sacred object, with aphodisiac powers, and it was even prohibited to women. Nowadays, everybody can enjoy this weird fruit, which in guacamole, a delicate and tasty Mexican starter, arrives in the form of a dip to spread on thin bread slices, chips or tortilla chips.

What you need:

2 shallots
4 fresh tomatoes
a handful of parsley
ground seeds from 4 cardamoms
½ teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon of black pepper
1 fresh green chilli pepper
2 avocados, or a big one
the juice of one lemon
salt
curcuma

How you do it:

Chop the shallots, the tomatoes, the parsley, and the chilli pepper*, mix with half the lemon juice*, salt, pepper, coriander, cardamoms, and let rest for at least an hour.Half the avocado(s), extract the flesh and mash with a fork. Add to the tomatoes mix, cover with the remaining juice, sprinkle on a bit of curcuma, cover the bowl with kitchen foil and store in the fridge before serving.

* Franita's variant: try and roast the chilli pepper and replace the lemon juice with that of two small and ripe limes. Serve with frozen margarita and you will feel on holidays!